Why the long face? Artist pilloried after creating half-horse, half-man sculpture

Aidan Harte's sculpture. ‘The púca is like the English puck that plays tricks,’ he said. Photograph: Aidan Harte

In Irish mythology, a púca is a mischievous, shapeshifting spirit that can take the form of a horse and entice unwary travellers on to its back for a wild ride.

Aidan Harte knows how that feels. Eighteen months ago the sculptor was commissioned to create a 2-metre tall bronze statue of a púca for the town square in Ennistymon, County Clare.