A PLAQUE dedicated to the work of the first SNP president Roland Muirhead has been erected in his home village of Lochwinnoch.
Muirhead was president of the SNP from 1936 to 1950 and helped found the party after previously being the first chairman of the National Party of Scotland – one of the predecessors to the SNP alongside the Scottish Party.
In 1950, Muirhead – who died in 1964 - also formed the Scottish National Congress, a direct action group focused on campaigning for Scottish Home Rule.
A plaque commemorating his life has now been put up at the McKillop Institute in Lochwinnoch after members of Renfrewshire Council agreed to the idea way back in 2018.
It is understood that a pub owned by the Muirhead family once stood on the site of the building.
Councillor Andy Doig, a former SNP politician, put the motion forward to erect the plaque to mark Muirhead’s “outstanding contribution” to Scottish public life after realising his impact had been “somewhat forgotten” from speaking to villagers.
Doig – who represents Lochwinnoch - said Muirhead taught us a lot about how the Yes movement can succeed.
He told the National: "Roland Muirhead's Scottish National Congress is not only a creature of political history but offers solid lessons on how the modern Yes campaign has to campaign not only at the ballot box but also in our streets, villages, and communities, to galvanise the Scottish people, by using non-violent civil disobedience in a creative, positive, way also using humour and satire.
“In doing so we will not only solidify the Yes vote at home but alert international opinion abroad that Scotland is on the march to becoming a full member of the family of nations".
He added: ““After speaking to some older folk in Lochwinnoch I decided that his impact was somewhat forgotten and was worth remembering.
“It is right and proper that this plaque was erected as Roland made an outstanding contribution as a journalist and campaigner to Scottish public life for a sustained period of 60 years.
“He was the only public figure from Lochwinnoch in the 20th century active on the national political stage, and he campaigned particularly strongly as a champion of de-colonisation in the 1950s at a time when this policy was far from being universally popular.”
Doig – who left the SNP in 2017 but remains pro-independence – managed to win over former colleagues at the SNP-run local authority in 2018 for the motion that was seconded by Tory councillor Bill Binks.
