How DJ u-turn was music to Kilkenny ears
IN EARLY 1998, less than a decade into his inter-county career and aged just 27, DJ Carey made the shock announcement that he was retiring from the black and amber of Kilkenny, putting it down to a loss of enthusiasm for the game he lit up over the course of a stellar career. ‘There is no other reason for my decision. The feeling goes back to after last year’s Championship and then again after the county final. Now it’s certain. ‘What really decided me was that I knew I wouldn’t be part of the team come June and July but I didn’t want to make an announcement at that stage and cause a hullabaloo before the Championship. ‘Yes, 27 is young but it includes 11 years’ service and eight or nine at the top level. Everyone has their day and I believe that mine is now gone. There’ll be younger, more enthusiastic players to take it on.’ Later, he would expand on his reasons to opt out, a decision that made national headlines and sparked a flood of support for his return, showing his enduring popularity. ‘The fun was going out of it a bit,’ he told The Sunday Game regarding his initial decision to retire. ‘I was running a business. On a Friday, you were leaving your own business and wondering where you’d get money on Monday morning to pay bills. On a Sunday, you were going out, hitting frees and thinking of Monday. ‘The criticism... We have great supporters in Kilkenny but, by God, when you’re not winning, when you’re not up there – and particularly at that time – you were savaged. ‘I was in the public eye. If you didn’t score 1-8, 1-10, 1-11 in a game, the blame fell on me. I felt that pressure – that was huge at the time. It felt a little bit undeserved, really. ‘I decided early in the year, you know what, that was it. This was something I was putting a huge amount of time into and was just getting an awful lot of hassle. ‘You got letters, you got anonymous letters in the door. You met people you didn’t know that were giving out. You met people who didn’t know you who were talking about you beside you when you were having lunch. ‘It was tough. You learn later on to harden up and take it, not take it too personally. When you’re involved and things don’t go well for you, it’s still raw.’ Despite Carey’s insistence at the time that his retirement was non-negotiable, his manager the previous year, Nickey Brennan, forecast that Carey would return. ‘I believe he’ll be back when the good weather comes in and the long evenings and the drama of the Championship. How’s he going to tell his son that he gave up the game at 27 even though he was the top player in the country?’ said Brennan. ‘I sympathise with Kevin Fennelly and his selectors. What are they going to do? They can’t keep beating a path to his door. But some intermediary may be able to sort things out.’ The retirement lasted just six weeks before Carey, at that point a two-time All-Ireland winner, reversed the decision, re-energised by all the messages of support. Carey went on to win three more All-Ireland titles before calling time, for good, on his inter-county career in 2006, after securing his legacy.