Learn to trace Irish roots

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, two Irish genealogy experts will present a daylong workshop on researching Irish ancestry on March 4 at the Sen. John Heinz History Center in the Strip District. The workshop runs from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Fintan Mullan, executive director of the Ulster Historical Foundation in Belfast, and research officer Gillian Hunt will describe in detail the many historic records and electronic resources available to beginning and experienced genealogists.

Presentations will include an introduction to Irish and Scots-Irish family history research, church records, gravestoneinscriptions, legal records, using landed estate records to trace farming families in the 18th and 19th centuries, the great famine in Ireland, and a question-andanswer session on solving difficult research problems.

Archivists from the history center’s Detre Library and Archives and representatives from the Westmoreland County Historical Society will also share expertise and research tips. Participants can take a curator-led tour of the history center’s Irish-American collection.

Advance registration is required. The cost is $30 for history center members, $40 for nonmembers. Participants maypre-order a box lunch for an additional $10.95. Register at 412-454-6361 or www.heinzhistorycenter.org/events.