No Fishing? The Magna Carta Said It’s OK!

Michael O’Shea is fighting a poaching conviction – his defense will be arguing that the 1215 Magna Carta [wiki] gave him (and the public at large) the right to fish on large tidal rivers:

Mr O’Shea of Dungarvan, Co Waterford, a former Waterford Crystal glass cutter, was fined £35 in 2005. He had fished the same beat for 30 years but it was discovered that he was no longer a member of the local fishing association and did not have a visitor’s permit.

The Magna Carta, which also applied in Ireland, gave the public the right to fish on large tidal rivers such as the Blackwater that were not under private ownership by the time it was signed.

Paddy Gordon, Mr O’Shea’s lawyer, said: "Exercising dominion over tidal waters is unacceptable and that’s our main gripe."

Link – via Scribal Terror