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And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week
CMU Beef Of The Week #200: Simply Red v Anglers
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 28 March 2014
It’s alright, everyone. Mick Hucknall has sorted out a dispute over hunting rights on the estate in Ireland he owns with his former Simply Red bandmate Chris De Margary.
This story dates back to 2005, when Hucknall and De Margary bought the Glenmore Estate in County Donegal, but got serious in 2009. In December of that year, the pair launched legal action against a neighbour, John Wilde, who lives on an estate on the opposite side of the River Finn, in a bid to stop him from allowing his guests onto their land to fish for salmon – the river being one of Europe’s prime spots for doing so.
Wilde claimed that his father had been given the right to fish and hunt on both estates 26 years previously. Hucknall and De Margary said any such right became theirs exclusively when they purchased the land on their side of the river, and they’d very much like him to keep to his side now.
In their original legal challenge, they said that by allowing his guests to cross the river, Wilde had disrupted their “quiet enjoyment” of the land.
Now, just in case you thought this was all because the Simply Red boys were sensitive musicians, angry that people were standing on their lawn and killing fish, you would be wrong. They are both keen anglers themselves. Also, killing things is their business.
The Glenmore Estate, offers, says its website, “in excess of 60 kilometres of pristine estate-run rivers [which] teem with salmon and trout, while the 24,000 acres of shooting ground is home to herds of Red deer. Throughout the winter the hillsides and bogs provide unrivalled woodcock and snipe shooting; the numerous lakes give opportunities for outstanding duck shooting and trout fishing”.
Yes, it sounds like a beautiful spot to quietly enjoy shooting at animals. I wouldn’t want that spoiled by people coming over and killing some fish either.
Five years ago Judge John O’Hagan told the two sides that they should try to “sort it out” between themselves. And earlier this week they stood up in front of him again and revealed that they finally had. The exact details of that agreement are not known, though it’s safe to say that while there may be a lot of needless death at Glenmore, it’ll all be in good fun.
Buoyed by the outcome of this disagreement, Mick Hucknall then went and sorted out all the problems in the British political system by appearing on BBC One’s ‘Question Time’. He did this in quite a subtle way though, by either not saying anything, or failing to demonstrate any knowledge of the issues he was discussing.
UPDATE Sat 29 Mar: Mick Hucknall writes: “We are primarily interested in conservation. Salmon population on the Finn and Rhelan DOUBLED. Wild bird population TREBLED under our supervision. Conservation we’re proud of”.
