Holding Salamanders is a collection that points its eye at a wide and varied range of themes and subjects. It flits from the Sahara to Ancient Roman and Greek myth, spiced here and there with Celtic lore. The presence of the Roman world, its history, culture, and verse, looms large in the writing. The volume is also deeply engaged with poetry from the wider world and displays multiple influences including contemporary and experimental poetry. His work is coloured not only by a love of travel and also a deep interest in fine art.

The poetry in Holding Salamanders constantly returns to Kerry and its environs. It is the poet's rootedness in Kerry that holds all the diverse elements of the collection together. Strolls and runs on the beach at Rossbeigh, the ever present "wild" Atlantic, the maintenance of gardens and houses, these are the inspiration and locations of much of this work.