Dublin

Today is Bloomsday, and we're not talking cherry blossoms. June 16 is the date when Leopold Bloom, hero of James Joyce's epic novel "Ulysses," made his odyssey through Dublin, Ireland. So what, you may say. Well, "Ulysses" is one of the most influential books of the 20th century. Funny, irreverent, full of barely comprehensible word play - and the original manuscript resides not in Dublin but in our own wonderful and underappreciated Rosenbach Museum at 2010 Delancey Place, repository of an amazing collection of rare books and art. Today from noon to 6, in front of the Rosenbach, a variety of Philadelphians, including Police Commissioner John Timoney, radio host Marty Moss-Coane and TV personality Ulysses "Ukee" Washington, will read from "Ulysses.

In Dublin's fair city, the girls are so . . . waifish. At least The Girl With Green Eyes is. This 1964 feature starring the delightful Rita Tushingham as a stray cat of a girl rescued by writer Peter Finch is a mood piece as memorable for their performances as for the Dublin locations. "The Girl With Green Eyes" will be with "Waltz of the Toreadors," a comedy starring Peter Sllers, tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Film Forum/Philadelphia, Philadelphia Center, 509 S. Broad St. (w) Tickets are $4; $3 for members and full-time students.

Inis Nua, dedicated to contemporary drama from Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales, presents Mark O'Rowe's Made in China, a stunningly nasty play about Dublin's thugworld. The accents are thick (what did he say?), the slang is low (what does that mean?), and the violence is vicious: If the three actors - all giving terrific performances - live through the run, it will be thanks to their skill and courage and the brilliant fight choreography of J. Alex Cordaro. A thug named Hughie (Jered McLenigan, whose honeyed baritone serves him well here, creating a sense of humanity crucial to his character)

The Pride of Parnell Street at Act II Playhouse in Ambler is a love story. Like so many Irish plays, it's told in monologues, making it seem more like storytelling than like conventional, dialogic theater. Sebastian Barry's couple, Janet (Kittson O'Neill) and Joe (David Whalen), live a rough, tough, hardscrabble life, financed entirely by robbery, punctuated by violence. So it's surprising only to Janet when Joe beats her up after the Irish football team loses an important match.

Cass Kimrey likes to tell about how her son went all the way to Ireland to meet the girl next door. Jim Kimrey, 35, a sergeant in the Philadelphia Police Department and a saxophonist in the Avalon String Band, is the prototypical South Philadelphian - carrying on in his father's footsteps as a police officer and a Mummer, living in his grade-school parish, and remodeling the home his paternal great-grandfather bought after emigrating from Lithuania....

NEW YORK - In April, as part of an Irish theater festival in which several professional Philadelphia companies took part, a curious little play called Dublin by Lamplight , with all the actors in clownface, opened in Center City in the large space at Broad Street Ministries. Now Inis Nua Theatre, the company that staged it, has reopened the production Off-Broadway, at the suite of theaters called 59E59. The setting by Meghan Jones has been scaled down to fit the New York space, and the six-member cast includes two new actors.

DUBLIN - Somewhere in Ireland, a burglar has the heart of a saint. Officials at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin said yesterday that they're distraught and perplexed over the theft of the church's most precious relic: the preserved heart of St. Laurence O'Toole, patron saint of Dublin. O'Toole's heart had been displayed in the cathedral since the 13th century. It was stored in a heart-shaped wooden box and secured in a small, square iron cage on the wall of a chapel dedicated to his memory.

The Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Tuesday the appointment of Paul A. Leonard as township manager, officially bringing an end to Gregory Klemick's 12 years of service in that role. For the last year, Leonard has performed some of the manager's duties, serving as deputy township manager, a position created to ease the transition. Klemick resigned Jan. 1 because he has multiple sclerosis. "Greg was hardworking," board Chairman Richard R. Rulon said in an interview.

Frank Timoney wants to get a few things straight about his cousin, John, the Philadelphia police commissioner. First, his real name is Sean. "Over here, we call him by his Irish name," said Frank, a retired Dublin cop who spent 36 years on the force. Sean it is. As for this thing in Esquire magazine about John - er, Sean - being the best cop in the country? "Well, he's not the best cop in Ireland," Frank quipped. "The best cop in Ireland just retired. " This is going to be good.

With his broad smile, deep eyes and wild hair, does anyone look more the Irish poet than Seamus Heaney? With a poetry rooted in the history of his native land, with verse that rises and falls like the lush landscape, does anyone sound more the Irish poet than Seamus Heaney? And yet, as befits the latest recipient of the world's most prestigious literary award, Mr. Heaney's work transcends nationality and place to touch a universal longing. His poems "exalt everyday miracles and the living past," said the Swedish Academy as it awarded him the 1995 Nobel Prize for Literature last week.

If it appears that Kelly Cross is idling about on the field, well, look harder. Take a moment. Observe. Things . . . are . . . developing. It is most appropriate to watch Cross, a senior on the Upper Dublin girls' lacrosse team, just as she plays the game - with patience. All of Cross' lacrosse life, people have told her that she looks too relaxed on the field. It's actually a fairly curious notion, considering that vast majority of high school athletes are prodded so readily to think the game, that her main criticism - if you can call it that - has been of her supposedly lackadaisical demeanor.

Alex Poplawski is usually a shoo-in to win draws for her Springfield (Delco) lacrosse team. At 5-foot-11, the Stanford recruit typically uses her height advantage to overwhelm counterparts. But when the Cougars traveled to Upper Dublin on Friday for their regular-season finale, Poplawski was up against Kelly Cross, also 5-11, the Cardinals' Syracuse-signed midfielder with some faceoff prowess of her own. "Alex is able to usually take the draws, but Kelly Cross is just as tall as her and she's a very good player," Springfield coach Keith Broome said.

US Airways is adding flights to Europe from Philadelphia for the busy summer travel season, the airline said Wednesday. Seasonal flights will operate to Barcelona, Frankfurt, Venice, Lisbon, Athens, Glasgow and, for two weeks in July, to Dublin. Additional seasonal flights are also being added from Charlotte, the airline said. — Paul Nussbaum

Haverford High's Shane Ryan added the gold medal from the 100-yard backstroke to the one he won in the 50 freestyle a day earlier, wrapping up the PIAA Class AAA boys' state swimming championships Thursday at Bucknell University's Kinney Natatorium. Ryan won the backstroke in 47.17 seconds, easily outdistancing runner-up Nic Graesser of Conestoga (48.97). La Salle completed a sweep of the three relay events on its way to the team championship as Eric Schultz, Joseph Maginnis, Sean Regan and Christopher Szekely won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:02.74.

Upper Dublin's long-range shooting produced seven three-point baskets and a 57-35 win over visiting Wallenpaupack on Tuesday night in the preliminary round of the PIAA state Class AAAA girls' basketball tournament. Jen Myers scored 14 points and Taylor Bryant 11 among nine Cardinals scorers, earning a berth in Friday's first round against District 3 champ Red Lion. Class AA. New Hope-Solebury's Grace Massimino hit a trio of threes in a 54-43 win at High School of the Future.

Upper Dublin's long-range shooting produced seven three-point baskets and a 57-35 win over visiting Wallenpaupack on Tuesday night in the preliminary round of the PIAA state Class AAAA girls' basketball tournament. Jen Myers scored 14 points and Taylor Bryant 11 among nine Cardinals scorers, earning a berth in Friday's first round against District 3 champ Red Lion. Class AA. New Hope-Solebury's Grace Massimino hit a trio of threes in a 54-43 win at High School of the Future.

DUBLIN - Somewhere in Ireland, a burglar has the heart of a saint. Officials at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin said yesterday that they're distraught and perplexed over the theft of the church's most precious relic: the preserved heart of St. Laurence O'Toole, patron saint of Dublin. O'Toole's heart had been displayed in the cathedral since the 13th century. It was stored in a heart-shaped wooden box and secured in a small, square iron cage on the wall of a chapel dedicated to his memory.

Despite it being playoff time, Cheltenham coach Brian Johnson said he had no choice but to keep three seniors out of the starting lineup for what he called "team-related issues. " "A lot of coaches just want to win, win, win," the sixth-year boss said. "I want to win, too, but it's more important to teach life lessons before you teach winning. We're trying to shape the kids into good young men. " Friday night against Upper Dublin, Johnson delivered a message and also guided the hosts to their first PIAA District 1 Class AAAA playoff victory in four seasons.