Here we find the statue of the late poet Patrick Kavanagh. A Monaghan-native, who lived at a number of addresses nearby during his time in Dublin. Most famous perhaps for his poem “On Raglan Road” which has become a staple in the repertoire of Irish musicians.

However, a less prominent work by Kavanagh reads:

For Dr Schrödinger and Other Eminent Physicists:
God must be glad to see them play
Like kittens in the sun Delighted with the wisps of hay
Blown from His haggard on a breezy day…. Time’s kittens, have your fun.

Clear enough is the reference to Schrödinger’s now (in)famous thought experiment. One could guess that this was in response to Kavanagh discovering the thought experiment but in fact Kavanagh and many of Dublin’s literary figures of the time travelled in the same circles as Schrödinger.

Following his arrival to Dublin, Schrödinger continued to pursue one of his passions by attending theatres in the city. An opportunity for both artistic and social engagement, he attended often with Anny and Hilde. It was in these circles that he met Patrick Kavanagh, actress Sheila (née May) and David Greene to name a few. Greene incidentally would join DIAS as part of the School of Celtic Studies.

Schrödinger’s interaction with the literary world of Dublin was far from a one way affair, by some accounts he was “a bit of a poet” himself, much like the man who invited him to Dublin. However, while De Valera wrote to a fictitious “Quaternia”, Schrödinger, like Kavanagh, dedicated his poetry to those closest to him.

One such muse of Schrödinger’s was the same Sheila Greene for whom he wrote:

No one knows as you and I 
How with us it came to be 
Not a one was there to see 
When we kissed so fervently 

Schrödinger’s involvement with the literary society had a minor spill over into contemporary life when “Myles na gCoppaleen” wrote in the Irish Times (c. 1942):

“I understand also that Professor Schrödinger has been proving lately that you cannot establish a first cause. The first fruit of the Institute, therefore, has been to show that there [is] no God. The propagation of heresy and unbelief has nothing to do with polite learning, and unless we are careful this Institute of ours will make us the laughing stock of the world.”

DIAS promptly demanded an apology for the article and a promise from the writer to not write about the Institute again. They would get what they asked for in the end despite Schrödinger insisting against these actions:

“I beg to decline emphatically the inclusion of any statement about my having been grieved by that article, or of any apology to me . . . or of anything that gives the wrong impression that I have asked for an apology.”

The reason of course being that Myles na gCoppaleen was in fact a pseudonym used by the writer Brian O’Nolan (At Swim-Two-Birds, The Third Policeman) who was another of Schrödinger’s social circle. Moreover, despite the public interaction between their employers they remained good friends.