Loneliness and Longing: Caitriona’s piece selected for frightened Rabbit anthology

A Ballymount woman has been selected as a contributor for an upcoming anthology centred on the work of Scottish indie band Frightened Rabbit.

Caitriona Murphy, who is a past pupil of the Assumption Secondary School in Walkinstown, is a talented writer who has contributed to many magazines and anthologies.

She balances her burgeoning writing career alongside her job as a nurse, and is also a passionate music fan with a particular affection for lyrics written by the late Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison.

Explaining how her involvement in the anthology came about, Caitriona told The Echo: “I’m a member of a lot of different writing groups, and I saw there was something about Frightened Rabbit and Broken Sleep Books.

“I really like Frightened Rabbit, and I really like Broken Sleep Books, so I just took it as a sign that I had to do something for it.”

Caitriona wrote a piece and sent it off for consideration, and said she was thrilled when, several months down the line, an editor reached out to her and told her that her piece had been selected for the anthology.

Frightened Rabbit, Scott Hutchison live in concert at Newcastle Riverside

For her piece in the Frightened Rabbit Anthology by Broken Sleep Books, Caitriona took inspiration from the band’s song, ‘The Woodpile’, to explore loneliness and longing.

Titled ‘Bereft of All Social Charms’, the affecting prose traverses the many facets of love and relationships – through teenage years through to adulthood – amid searching and self-discovery.

“It feels so personal, and the piece brings back a lot of memories,” explained Caitriona.

“I think a lot of people think that being lonely is one of the worst things you can be.

“There can be a day-to-day sadness of ordinary life, where you come home from work and cry yourself to sleep, and people think that’s tragic.

“But I think you can be very happy and content, and still have unbearable bouts of loneliness some nights.

“I hope that people who read the piece understand that it’s OK to feel like that, that it’s OK not to keep the façade up all the time.

“If you’ve ever felt like you’re having the worst night of your life with an indescribable loneliness, there’s someone else out there who’s feeling the same.”

The Frightened Rabbit Anthology is available for pre-order now for €9 on brokensleepbooks.com, in advance of its release on March 31.