Caitríona Lally is an Irish writer. She has published two novels: ''Eggshells'' (2017) and ''Wunderland'' (2021). In 2018 she was awarded the

Rooney Prize for Irish Literature The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature was created in 1976 by the Irish American businessman Dan Rooney, owner and chairman of the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers franchise and former US Ambassador to Ireland. The prize is administered by the Oscar Wilde ...

Biography

Lally studied English literature at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. After graduating in 2004, she taught English in Japan and spent time travelling abroad. She then worked as a copywriter, and as a home aide in New York. Lally began work on her first novel ''Eggshells'' in 2011, during a period of unemployment. ''Eggshells'' tells the story of Vivian, an enchanting outsider who believes herself to be a

changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found throughout much of European folklore. According to folklore, a changeling was a substitute left by a supernatural being when kidnapping a human being. ...

and roams the streets of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in search of belonging. The book explores ideas of home and the meaning of

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

. Lally worked on ''Eggshells'' while working a job in data entry. She entered the manuscript into the 2014 Novel Fair Competition held by the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin, and won the chance to pitch it to agents and publishers. The opportunity secured her an agent and a book deal, and the novel was published in 2015. ''Eggshells'' was shortlisted for the Newcomer Award at the 2015

Irish Book Awards The Irish Book Awards are Irish literary awards given annually to books and authors in various categories. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. The primary sponsor is An Post, the state owned postal service in Ireland ...

and the Kate O’Brien Debut Novel Award. In 2015, Lally received a Literature Bursary from the

Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...

, which enabled her to start research for her second novel. She performed a spoken word piece in the 2016 Dublin Port project Starboard Home. ''Wunderland'' was published in September 2021. It follows Roy, exiled from Ireland to Hamburg, where he works as a cleaner at an exhibition of miniatures. On writing the novel, Lally said, "Writing ''Wunderland'' was a chance for me to indulge my obsessions with trains and all things miniature, and to explore two characters coming at life from very different perspectives." Lally and her husband, who works for the Irish government, live in Dublin with their family. Alongside her writing, Lally works as a cleaner at Trinity College Dublin.

Bibliography

* ''Eggshells''. Melville House, 2017. * ''Wunderland'', New Island Books, 2021.

Awards

* 2014: Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair, finalist * 2018:

for ''Eggshells'' * 2019: Lannan Literary Fellowship

References

External links

The way the media speaks about author Catriona Lally's day job is telling of how it views the service industryCaitriona Lally
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lally, Caitriona Living people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Irish novelists 21st-century Irish women writers Irish women novelists Janitors