Fraughan Sunday Ireland: Glendalough Distillery Berry Collins Recipe & Wild Blueberry Tradition
Have you ever heard of a tradition where people climbed hills not for views, but to gather wild berries and celebrate the changing seasons? Fraughan Sunday is one of Ireland’s oldest yet lesser-known customs, deeply rooted in nature and heritage. Once a day of foraging, community, and even romance, this unique ritual is now being rediscovered in a modern way. With a renewed focus on sustainability and authentic flavours, traditions like Fraughan Sunday are gaining attention again—bringing the past into the present through craft, culture, and taste.
Here’s everything you need to know about this unique Irish tradition:
Celebrated on Sunday, 26th July 2026, Fraughan Sunday (pronounced frockin) marks the beginning of the ancient harvest festival, Lúnasa, when people traditionally went in search of wild fraughans (wild blueberries). “Fraughan” comes from the Irish word for heather, as fraughans like to grow where heather thrives, in acidic soil. They are the ancestor of the modern blueberry and are nutritious, being high in antioxidants and vitamins.
At Glendalough Distillery, the tradition never really stopped. Every summer, the distillery’s full-time forager, Geraldine Kavanagh, heads into the Wicklow Mountains to hand-pick fraughans for use in Glendalough Distillery’s Gin, as their more complex flavour sets them apart from store-bought berries. Geraldine picks entirely by hand, a slower method she prefers because hand-picking naturally drops some berries back onto the mountainside, helping the plants regenerate while leaving plenty of fruit behind for the deer, birds, and other wildlife that rely on them.
For anyone picking their own this summer, use Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin (€45.00).
Available now at Celtic Whiskey Shop, Dawson Street, O’Briens Wines, Beers & Spirits, and Tesco.
Glendalough Distillery Fraughan Berry Collins (Serves 2)
Ingredients
- 20 wild berries (fraughans, wild raspberries, and wild strawberries, if you can find them)
- 2 dashes raspberry or strawberry syrup
- 4 measures Glendalough Distillery Wild Botanical Gin
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice
- Sugar syrup, to taste
- Soda water, to top up
- Garnish: wild berries or fresh mint
Method
Divide the berries and raspberry or strawberry syrup between two highball glasses and muddle well. Fill each glass with ice, then add the gin, lemon juice, and sugar syrup, and stir. Top up with soda water and garnish with wild berries or fresh mint.
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