Disgraced hurling legend DJ Carey has been taken to hospital from prison, but the fallen Kilkenny star has not been short of family support since he was jailed.

The 54-year-old was removed from Mountjoy Prison to the Mater under prison-officer escort this week, where he is understood to remain under guard.

It marks a difficult new chapter for the former GAA great, who is serving five and a half years for one of the most notorious frauds in Irish sport.

Despite his infamous struggles, Extra.ie exclusively revealed earlier this year that his two sons have stayed close.

Michael and Sean, Carey’s children from his marriage to ex-wife Christine, have been regular visitors since their father was sentenced. Both have followed him into the game he once dominated.

Michael, a 26-year-old teacher, came up through the Kilkenny underage ranks and progressed to the senior panel, while Sean is also a talented hurler, meaning the family name has stayed on the pitch even as Carey’s own reputation collapsed off it.

Christine, to whom Carey was married for seven years before their split in 2003, is not understood to visit him in prison. Carey was later engaged to former Dragons’ Den investor Sarah Newman, though that engagement ended in 2012.

Inside Mountjoy, Carey had settled into an unlikely routine before his hospitalisation. He had been based in the committal unit and, having once been one of the most feared forwards in hurling, swapped the hurl for a mop, taking on cleaning duties that afforded him extra time out of his cell.

‘He’s got a privileged position,’ a source previously said. ‘He is allowed extra time out of his cell, which is beyond the norm.’

Carey was jailed last November after defrauding 22 people out of almost €400,000, falsely claiming he had cancer and needed money for treatment abroad.

The court heard he took in €394,127 and $13,000, of which just over €44,000 has been repaid, leaving the bulk outstanding. Among those he deceived was businessman Denis O’Brien, who gave him more than €125,000.

Passing sentence, Judge Martin Nolan said Carey had ‘took advantage of people’s good nature and goodwill towards him’, branding it a ‘very low’ and ‘reprehensible’ fraud. He said Carey had promised to repay the money while knowing he never could.

At this point in time, there has been no official comment on the specific health reason for Carey’s admission to hospital.