Aidan Dunne the Irish Times arts critic has traced the artist’s fascination with the power of animals and the vulnerability of that power when Michael witnessed a donkey drowning in a bog hole while staying with his grandmother in Co. Offaly. This perhaps explains his well- known style where writhing animals are carved as voluptuous beasts often locked in combat with contorted limbs and bulging muscles. His examples of heroic horses and riders manage to combine a unique strength and dignity with a quirky humour.

The artist works with the medium of stone carving, usually limestone, but does work in marble.

Michael has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally and has had several large-scale publicly sited sculptures to his credit such as Horses and Riders at the Mallow roundabout, the very unusual sculpted plant at Botanic Gardens, Dublin and the Tomás O’Criomthain ‘statue’ at the Blasket Island Heritage Centre.