A faith healer whom DJ Carey claimed miraculously cured him of cancer has said he did not realise somebody “could stoop to that level”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Prime Time on Tuesday, Séamus Byrne of St Gemma’s Healing Ministry in Kilkenny told how Carey had called him in October 2019, claiming to be seeking healing through prayer.
“When people come with the various different things – could be cancer, heart problems, MS, whatever, depression, all sorts of difficulties ... you work with them, you pray with them, and you do the very best you can to help them out,” Mr Byrne said.
On Monday, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the former Kilkenny hurling legend had been jailed for 5½ years for inducing 22 people to give him about €400,000 to fund treatment for cancer that he did not have.
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A Prime Time report on Carey’s fraudulent activities revealed letters were used to outline Carey’s treatment for a rare blood cancer, multiple myeloma, including the falsified signatures of doctors in the United States and England.
Two such bogus letters were supplied to the accountant of businessman Denis O’Brien, who gave Carey €125,000 and $13,000 over a nine-year period.
Mr Byrne is one of several people who were deceived by Carey.
“Somebody rang me to know would I pray with him, that he had this cancer problem,” Mr Byrne told RTÉ.
“I said, ‘okay’, as I would’ve done with many others. They wanted me to talk to him privately in a private room ... I could understand that because of his public image at the time.
“I brought him into a private room, dealt with him, prayed with him,” Mr Byrne said.
Carey later told people that praying with the faith healer had cured him.
He “supposedly had a great healing”, Mr Byrne said but it “now turns out that he didn’t even have cancer”.
“It’s sad that anybody would abuse or use anybody’s ministry like that.”
Mr Byrne said he didn’t realise that somebody could “stoop to that level”, adding that it was “very disappointing because I really always thought very highly of the man”.
In return for the alleged healing, Carey promised Mr Byrne he would buy him a car and a €1,000 deposit was paid to a local garage. However, Carey never came through with the balance to finalise the purchase.
[ How DJ Carey went from hurling great to convicted fraudsterOpens in new window ]
