NATIONAL columnist and blogger Paul Kavanagh – aka the Wee Ginger Dug – has raised more than £21,000 to keep his pro- independence blog going.

Kavanagh launched an appeal for help in raising £10,000 on June 7 and he hit that target just a few days later.

Now he has more than doubled the goal, reaching £21,660, with £10615 donated via the GoFundMe crowdfunding platform and £9006 through PayPal. Individual donations ranged in size from £1 to £1000.

Kavanagh said the cash boost will help to support him for the next 12 months and would see the Wee Ginger Dug blog, which dates back to 2013, continuing for another year.

Kavanagh’s extensive campaigning efforts for Scottish independence will also be funded by the money raised, including delivering talks, attending pro-indy events and visiting grassroots organisations across the country once the coronavirus lockdown is lifted. He will also continue his Wee Ginger Dugcast podcast he records with National editor Callum Baird.

Kavanagh said the cash boost is “immensely appreciated”, especially because he wasn’t sure whether to launch a fundraiser during the pandemic.

He added: “It’s always an exercise in trepidation, asking people to put their money where my mouth is. It’s even more nerve wracking when the entire world is mired in the biggest crisis in generations.

“However as it turned out, the fundraiser not only reached its target of £10,000 within a couple of days of being started, it has smashed right through it.

“My huge and heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful readers of this blog for the support you have given.

“It is immensely appreciated. I promise that I will continue to be a thorn in the side of British nationalists in Scotland, and will keep on writing, podcasting, and – when circumstances allow it – return to travelling the length and breadth of this country of ours to spread the message that it’s only through independence that Scotland can reach its full potential.”

He went on: “You don’t really get much of a sense of whether you’re making an impact when you are a blogger. You sit and type away at home, and launch your articles into the ether. “During lockdown it’s an even more isolating experience. It’s both humbling and heartwarming to realise that so many people appreciate my work and that it has touched so many.”