Geraldine Kavanagh, Head Forager at the Glendalough Distillery, talks us through the revival of the ancient tradition of Fraughan Sunday as we approach the last Sunday of July.
High up in the Wicklow Mountains, throughout July, there is a shift in the landscape as the mountains become painted with hues of blue and purple. To most people, these are just wild blueberries, but to those who know the Wicklow Mountains, they are fraughans, and they are central to Fraughan Sunday, the ancient Irish harvest festival.
What is Fraughan Sunday?
Traditionally celebrated on the last Sunday of July, Fraughan Sunday is an ancient celebration on the Celtic calendar. While it’s a day largely overlooked now, for our ancestors, it was a pivotal day of rest and recuperation before harvest began.
One individual at the very centre of the revival of Fraughan Sunday is Geraldine Kavanagh, Head Forager at Glendalough Distillery. Geraldine’s rare position as a full-time forager allows her to spend her days immersed in the Irish wilderness.
The history of Fraughan Sunday
To understand the history, Geraldine explained that “fraughan comes from fraochán, which is the Irish for fraughan, and that comes from the word fraoch, which means heather, so it means where the berries grow, where the heather grows, high up in the mountains.” In the past, on Fraughan Sunday, families would head up into the hills together to forage and eat. It was also famously a day for courting when “The girls would pick blueberries and then make a cake for a boy that they liked”, Geraldine shared.
Fraughan Sunday goes far beyond courting as it also highlights a history of resourcefulness and survival. During World War I and World War II these berries were no longer seen as just a seasonal treat but an important source of income and nutrition. “The people saw a resource that they could use… It was an opportunity for people to make some really well-needed cash,” Geraldine noted. Despite the hardships, foraging fraughans also helped foster community, bringing people out onto the mountains together.
What makes Fraughans different to regular blueberries?
Fraughans are quite different to regular store-bought blueberries, offering a “tart and sort of more interesting flavour” according to Geraldine. Because of their long harvesting process, fraughans can only be foraged; you won’t find them in a grocery store, making them even more special and unique since you have to go out and get them yourself.
At the Glendalough Distillery, the fraughans are a key component of their Wild Botanical Gin made by Geraldine. The gin recipe “expresses County Wicklow across the four seasons”. Geraldine also suggested that they can be eaten fresh by the handful or taken back to the kitchen for baking.
How can I celebrate Fraughan Sunday, or forage?
For those who want to participate in Fraughan Sunday and sustainable foraging, Geraldine emphasised that it’s an act of mindfulness and strongly advocates for hand-picking berries. “I pick by hand because that’s the best way… when you pick them by hand every so often, you’re dropping berries you can never pick them all.” This intentionally slower process allows for regeneration, helping to “ensure that you’re leaving food for future generations”, she explains.
Geraldine’s main guide to successful and safe foraging this Fraughan Sunday is to:
“look at the mountains, and they’re turning purple, well, that’s where the heather’s growing…that could be a good spot to look,” she recommends. Whilst the Wicklow Mountains are the prime location for foraging fraughan, you can also find them in the Mourne Mountains or around Tipperary.
Geraldine also highlighted that “people should always be careful that they have identified each plant before they pick it”, recommending people who are new to foraging to go out with an experienced forager.
Fraughan Sunday is about so much more than just the fruit; it marks the changing of the seasons and a “connection with nature”, Geraldine explains. At a time when we can often feel disconnected from the world and land around us, Fraughan Sunday allows you to go into the mountains and “preserve a living connection to a place.”
As Geraldine explains, “People are more interested now in reviving these traditions because they’re nice traditions, they’re nice ways to mark different parts of the year.” So, this Fraughan Sunday, head up to the Wicklow mountains and be part of the ancient tradition that has been celebrated for centuries.
Written by Jessica Francis.
