Gaelic Games

DJ Carey admits concussions from playing career have affected his health

‘There’s probably no doubt they were connected’ says former Kilkenny great

DJ Carey pictured during this year’s Fitzgibbon Cup at Limerick IT where he coached IT Carlow. Photograph: Donall Farmer/Inpho
DJ Carey pictured during this year’s Fitzgibbon Cup at Limerick IT where he coached IT Carlow. Photograph: Donall Farmer/Inpho
Mon Aug 31 2015 - 19:29

Kilkenny hurling legend DJ Carey believes the concussions he suffered during his playing career have affected his health in recent years

The 44-year-old suffered “at least” seven concussions during his 17 years of inter-county hurling and has suffered from aneurysms.

“There’s probably no doubt they were connected,” Carey told Ray D’Arcy on his RTÉ Radio 1 show on Monday.

Carey wore a helmet throughout his career, but warned that the nature of the game means it cannot fully protect against head injury.

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“The helmet doesn’t save a concussion, really and truly,” added the nine-time All Star. “A helmet in a lot of cases saves a bleed, or saves a bang more so. But if you get an elbow in the back of the head or a heavy shot or a shoulder and I’m not saying they’re meant, a lot of it is accidental, guys are going full-blooded for a ball.”

Carey believes that contesting for possession holds many dangers, pointing to the hardness of summer pitches as another risk area .

“When you’re going up to catch a ball I could hit someone, I could get hit. The hardest pitch in the country is probably Croke Park if you fall on it. You go up for a ball and maybe get a bit of a push in the sky and you fall back on your head, you can get a fair bang in that. So imagine the ordinary club pitches around the country, they’re absolutely rock hard during the summer.

Carey also told D’Arcy that he will continue to receive treatment for an unspecified medical condition for the next year, although his general fitness is good.

“I’m doing okay, I’m doing okay. I have to travel to the States a bit for treatment, but then again I hurled a game the other night. I’ll still have to travel for the guts of a year.