It is understood that the disgraced former Kilkenny All-Star signed up to do a number of educational courses earlier this year
DJ Carey pictured at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin(Image: PA)
Shamed hurling legend DJ Carey has gone back to school behind bars.
He goes to class everyday in Mountjoy Prison as he tries to improve his education while in custody.
A prison source said: “He is now a full time student in prison. He has signed up for a number of courses and is learning new IT skills among other interests.
“There is a team of full time teachers in Mountjoy and you can learn anything from Junior Cert subjects right through to a university degree.
“The City of Dublin Education and Training Board runs the courses which are based on demand. You can train to be a chef, a barrister, a computer or IT professional, whatever you want.”
It is understood that the disgraced former Kilkenny All-Star signed up to do a number of educational courses earlier this year.
He now goes to school each morning and then does another two hours between 2pm to 4pm after lunch.
DJ Carey with phone charger
Prison sources say he enjoys going to school and studies diligently in his cell every night.
He did his Leaving Cert at school in Kilkenny but never went to university.
Carey, 55, was jailed for five and a half years on November 3 last year after pleading guilty to 10 sample counts of fraud.
He conned a large number of friends and acquaintances out of €400k between them by pretending he had cancer when he didn’t.
He persuaded them to give him money to pay for his ‘cancer’ treatment but instead he squandered it by living the high life and staying in five-star golfing resorts all over the world.
The hurling legend even posted pictures of himself supposedly receiving treatment in a hospital bed when there was nothing wrong with him.
He claimed he was getting life saving stem cell cancer treatment in a number of hospitals in the United States but when the Gardai came calling the hospitals said they never heard of him.
A number of big names were among his victims including billionaire Denis O’Brien, a golfing buddy, who gave him €135k and also testified against him in a victim impact statement.
Former Kilkenny hurler, DJ Carey(Image: Collins)
The €400k is believed to be only the tip of the iceberg and detectives suspect the real figure runs into millions because most of his victims were too embarrassed to testify.
We have learned that a number of new complaints were made against DJ Carey after he was convicted and jailed but Gardai have no plans at the moment to pursue any new charges against him.
The five-time All Ireland winning hurler is being detained in Mountjoy West which is an area of the jail where a number of inmates including lifers with enhanced rights for good behaviour and who are due to be freed in the coming years, are being held.
DJ is being kept in his own single cell and has a television and a cell telephone.
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He is allowed to make two calls a day for six minutes at a time via the prison switchboard to a list of pre-designated 10 phone numbers which is believed to include family members.
The prison insider said: “DJ is coping very well in prison, he keeps his head down and is friendly with everyone.
“There is no risk to him from other prisoners because they are mostly well behaved criminals coming to the end of long sentences, who are keeping their noses clean for fear of jeopardising their release.
“He enjoys going to the school in the jail and doesn’t do any prison jobs because of his studies.”
The Mountjoy school operates the same times as secondary schools and the prison has a large number of full-time teachers. All the courses are shut down for the summer just like the schools on the outside.
Carey is expected to be transferred to an open prison soon, having served several months in Mountjoy.
White-collar criminals like him normally serve most of their time in the low-security open jails.
Former Anglo Irish Bank boss David Drumm was moved to Loughan House Open Prison in Cavan after spending an initial seven months of his six year sentence for conspiracy to defraud in Mountjoy. He served over three years in custody.
DJ Carey can expect to be freed sometime in 2028 once he continues to be a “model” prisoner.
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