‘Every now and again I take the fiddle and head somewhere around Ennis or Doolin’ – AMQ’s Michael Queally

The Clare Echo is proud to be media partner of The Clare Business Excellence Awards. In the lead-up to the Gala Awards ceremony on Thursday, November 19, 2026 at the Rine Hotel, The Clare Echo is doing a Business Spotlight series sponsored by AMQ Accountants and Auditors. To kick things off, we speak to its co-founder, Michael Queally.

When you were smaller, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I grew up on a farm, and farming was the be-all and end-all of everything at the time. Like a lot of lads my age, I wanted to be a farmer.

Tell us about your career progression to date?
I went to primary school in St Flannan’s National School in Inagh, secondary school in the CBS in Ennis, before going to Dublin City University to study Accounting and Finance.

After graduating, I spent about six months with O’Halloran & Company in Ennis to get some experience. That helped me secure a trainee contract with Deloitte in Limerick, where I trained as an accountant. I spent nine years with Deloitte, including a year and a half working in Sydney.

On returning from Sydney, I decided to go into industry, as we referred to it then, and joined Pfizer as Plant Financial Controller in Dublin. I really enjoyed my four years with Pfizer. After our first child, Seamus, was born, my wife Mary and I decided to move home to Ennis. I rejoined Deloitte in Limerick for a further two years before joining Doonbeg Golf Club as Finance Director.

In 2010, my brother Paul and I decided to set up an accounting practice in Ennis. We started AMQ Accountants and Auditors and we’ve been working on building it ever since.

What’s the most enjoyable aspect of what you do?
The variety. No two days are really the same. We could be helping a client with their accounts and compliance, dealing with a Revenue investigation, looking at tax planning or succession, helping somebody prepare a business for sale, or auditing a large business and seeing how it is developing and growing.

You are constantly learning in practice. We learn from our clients and from the different situations we come across, and we try to take the best of that learning and use it to help all of our clients develop and progress. I think that is probably the part I enjoy most.

What motivates you?
At a basic level, like everybody else, you’re motivated to make a living and pay the bills. Once that’s taken care of, what motivates me is building AMQ into something valuable for businesses in Clare and the wider region. We want to have a firm with the expertise and range of services that means businesses don’t have to look outside the region as they grow.

I’d like a person to be able to come to us when they are starting a business and for us to be able to support them right through its lifecycle; as they grow, employ people, raise finance, deal with tax, pass the business to the next generation or sell it, or list on the stock market.

Our tax director, Liz Lynch, said recently that as advisers we have a “ringside seat” to some of the most important decisions people make in their lives. I think that’s a great way of putting it. There is more information available now than ever before through the internet and AI, but people still need somebody they trust to sit down with them, understand their circumstances and talk through what a decision actually means for them. Building AMQ to provide that level of advice locally is a big motivation for me.

What advice do you have for your 15-year-old self?
I was always fairly happy-go-lucky and, at 15, I certainly had no great career plan; I probably didn’t even know what an accountant was!

Looking back, I think I took some of the opportunities that came my way for granted and perhaps didn’t get as much from them as I could have. So I wouldn’t tell my 15-year-old self to change too much, but I would tell him to recognise opportunities when they come along and make the most of them. Enjoy yourself, absolutely, but appreciate that your time and the opportunities you are given are valuable.

If you weren’t in this job, what do you think you’d be doing now?
Probably something similar, but in a completely different field. Growing up, we farmed and my dad did agricultural contracting. I loved that and the people we met along the way. I’ve worked in both practice and industry and enjoyed both, and I enjoy playing music as well. I’ve been lucky; I think I simply enjoy the social side of working with people. I don’t think I’d do particularly well in a solitary job.

One thing I’ve learned is that it probably matters less what you choose to do than you think. Whether you start out as an accountant, engineer, scientist or something completely different, as your career develops you can end up facing many of the same challenges, leading people, making decisions and trying to build something.

Whatever I had ended up doing, I think I would have tried to learn as much about it as I could, get as good at it as I could, and enjoy doing it.

What’s your greatest life or career achievement to date?
Like most people, I’d have to say my family. I have three great kids and a very patient wife, Mary, who has been a rock throughout everything. Seamus is studying business in Limerick, Niamh has just started college in London studying drama and art, and Aisling, our youngest, is 15 and doing Transition Year in Coláiste Mhuire. They’re all doing their own thing and they’re great company.

From a career point of view, I’m proud of what we’ve built with AMQ in Ennis. We started from scratch in 2010 and, with a great team of people around us, it has grown into something that I think is a really good resource for businesses in the region. I’m proud of where we’ve got to, but I still think there’s plenty more we can do, so I’ll keep plugging away at it until I’m put out to grass!

Who or what is the biggest influence on your life?
I’ve been lucky to have a lot of good influences. My parents were probably the first. They taught us the importance of hard work, but also of always looking at what’s coming down the track, reassessing where you are and figuring out the best way forward, and then putting in the work to make it happen.

Professionally, Ger Lyons and John Gilmartin, who were partners in Deloitte when I was training, were big influences on me. I admired the interest they took in businesses and the regard they had for their clients. The client really mattered. They also had great integrity in how they conducted themselves, and that stayed with me.

More generally, I’m influenced by people who are honest, capable, hardworking and who never stop learning. You meet those people in every walk of life and I think there’s always something you can learn from them.

What’s the life dream now?
I’m enjoying what I’m doing at the moment. We have a great team developing in AMQ and I’d love to see them take the practice forward when I’m no longer at the helm. The dream would be that, long after we’re gone, AMQ is still here and is still a trusted adviser to businesses in Clare and the wider region.

Personally, I’d like to see the kids find careers and lives that make them happy. Then hopefully Mary and I can spend a bit more time travelling, visiting them wherever they end up and catching up with friends we’ve made in Ireland and abroad over the years.

I’d also like to play a bit more music and perhaps work a little less, although I can’t really see myself switching off completely.

How do you switch off?
Every now and again I take the fiddle and head somewhere around Ennis or Doolin to play a few tunes. I love the music, I enjoy the company of the musicians I play with and the craic that goes with it.

I also enjoy walking and swimming. Fitness doesn’t come naturally to me, but I find a good walk clears the head, particularly on a nice day.

Once a year I go golfing with some old college friends. I’m an atrocious golfer but they put up with me and it’s a great few days catching up. I’m getting a tiny bit better every year, so by the time I’m 90 I should be acceptable!

When are you at your happiest?
I’m pretty happy most of the time!

Do you have any hidden talents?
None that I’ve discovered yet.

Is there anything else that you’d like to share?
I’d just like to thank all of our clients in Clare and across the country for their support. They allow us to do what we do and we never take that support for granted. I’d also like to thank the team in AMQ. We have a great group of people and anything we’ve achieved has been a collective effort.

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