It was the height of the recession. And Caitríona Lally had been let go from her job as an abstract writer. CVs were going out but not much was coming back in. And then she had an idea for a book.
This week, Caitríona won the Rooney Prize for Literature. She spoke with Ryan Tubridy about how Eggshells found its way to the judges’ table.
Dublin-born Caitríona attended Trinity College, where she studied English.
"Probably not the most practical kind of a dream, but it was a fun four years."
After working in Japan for a year, Caitríona came home to work as an abstract writer. In 2011, she lost her job. But finding a new one was not easy, she told Ryan.
"I spent a full year unemployed, applying for hundreds of jobs, getting no responses. Kind of wandering the streets of Dublin pretty aimlessly. And then this idea came into my head for a book."
This idea became her first novel, Eggshells.
"I was noticing street signs around Dublin with letters missing and I started writing them down in my notebook and I thought 'What if I had this character who was looking for new meanings in these street signs?'"
Vivian, the book’s protagonist, a kind of "misfit" character, is "looking for a way to belong". Though Caitríona had the idea for Eggshells in 2011, it took a while for Vivian to come to life.
"I took loads of notes that year for a book, but I kind of didn’t have the confidence to write that year. I kind of didn’t really know I could write a novel."
A data entry job allowed her the time to make a start on what would become her literary debut.
"It was minimum wage, but it felt like living the dream after being on the dole."
When that job ended, Caitríona decided to return to work at Trinity College as a cleaner. The early mornings work well for a writer, she says. And the time before the students arrive has a certain ambience, particularly in the Museum building where she is based.
"You definitely see the place very differently... It’s kind of magical."
Her cleaning job is a marked contrast to her past jobs, she explained.
"I have zero stress. In other jobs, sometimes I would have dreaded going to work on Monday, but I’ve never dreaded going to work [here]. I’ve great colleagues, they’re good craic. And it’s just the perfect balance with writing."
Caitríona has a good motivator in the form of her 14-month-old daughter Alice when it comes to scheduling time to write. Alice goes to creche 3 mornings a week.
"Those mornings, I finish my cleaning job and I have exactly 2-and-half hours to write before I pick her up and mind her for the afternoon. It really focuses the mind when you have those 2-and-a-half hours."
Caitríona had been trying to get Eggshells published for a long time before it found a home at Liberties Press. It was originally published in 2015, but fell out of print.
"There was a lot of rejection - a lot of rejections."
Last year, Eggshells was published in America, which "gave it a second wind", leading to a deal to re-publish the book in Ireland and the UK with Harper Collins. As well as a new print run, Caitríona will receive €10,000 as part of the Rooney Prize, which is named for the former US Ambassador, Dan Rooney. What will Caitríona spend her winnings on?
"I wish I could be more exciting, but yeah, it’s definitely more practical mundane stuff. Paying off bills put aside for creche and the most exciting thing, a water tank for the attic. Living the dream!"
