Erc of Slane

Erc mac Dega (Latin: Ercus; Cornish: Erth), also known (incorrectly) as Herygh, was an Irish saint.

[5] Erc may have arrived in Kerry soon after the mission of St. Benignus, who was sent by St. Patrick to preach to the tribes of West Munster in 450.

Erc had spiritual charge over Kerry and a wide range of southwest Limerick (in the heart of which lay the convent of Ita at Killeedy).

Erc established the school at Slane where King Dagobert II is said to have received his early education.

[7] In the nineteenth century, historian Dean Cogan (a native of Slane) called Erc a man of great sanctity and usefulness.

[10] Erc finally returned to Slane and lived out the rest of his life in prayer and solitude at a quiet hermitage beside the Boyne.