A former Argyll SNP MP has died shortly after voting in the independence referendum.
Iain MacCormick, of Oban, was so determined to cast his vote, he took an oxygen tank with him to the polling station on Thursday.
The 74-year-old, who was suffering from lung cancer, died the next day.
Last night Mike Russell MSP paid tribute to the former teacher, who split his time between Oban and France, and described him as a “remarkable man”.
He said: “Iain was a remarkable man, part of a vastly influential Scottish political family which helped to build our modern nation.”
Mr MacCormick originally fought for the Argyll constituency in 1970, but was unsuccessful. However, at the age of 34, he won the seat in 1974 and held it until 1979.
Mr Russell said: “As a result he become of the key generation which established and took forward the idea of independence in modern mainstream Scottish politics.
“The parliamentary success of Iain and his colleagues in the two elections of 1974 – returning first seven and then 11 MPs – by its pressure at home and at Westminster secured the first devolution referendum in 1979 and ultimately led to the establishment of a Scottish Parliament in 1999.”
Although Mr MacCormick left the Scottish National Party in the 1980s, he later returned and wanted to see Scotland “flourish”.
Mr Russell added: “It is a measure of his passion for change and his extraordinary, determined character that despite being ill and in hospital until the end of last week, he insisted on going in person to vote Yes in the referendum on Thursday.
“I spoke on a Yes platform in Oban with him earlier this year and he remained a fine orator whose keen mind got to the very heart of any issue.”
He said Mr MacCormick’s death had “shocked and saddened” the constituency, where the public and former pupils thought of him warmly.
His funeral will be held at St Columba’s Cathedral in Oban at 10am on Thursday.