He attended Mungret College with the intent of becoming a Jesuit priest, but several years into his training contracted TB and was hospitalised for nine months.
In 1988 he made an extended television appearance on the Channel 4 discussion programme After Dark, alongside among others John McCririck, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll and General Sir Cecil "Monkey" Blacker.
The following year, following a visit encouraged by a friend, he went to Zambia and troubled by the illness and poverty he witnessed Curley founded the charity Direct Aid For Africa (DAFA)[5] to support the underprivileged.
[6] He helped develop the careers of several leading jockeys including Frankie Dettori and Tom Queally.
[7] Barney Curley died peacefully at his home, a stud farm near Newmarket on 23 May 2021, aged 81.