settled at Sean Ross, which was a wooded morass far from the haunts of men; in fact, it was utterly wild, so much so, that pilgrims would get lost, so Crónán abandoned it and moved to the more accessible wood of Cré, that is Roscrea, County Tipperary. In the 7th century, Culdees established a presence on Monahincha, but later gave way to Augustinian canons. The Augustinians relocated to Sean Ross in 1485.
Buildings
The main building was built about 1750 as Corville House, a Georgian country house with two storeys over a basement. Although much extended and fitted with UPVC windows, the house is listed as being of special architectural and artistic interest. The gardener's house and walled garden are also mentioned in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Within the grounds are the ruined Corville Abbey with its associated small grave yard, an ice house and a lime kiln. There are also several functional modern buildings associated with the school. Corville House was the home of the Anglo-Irish Prittie family during the 1(th and 19th centuries. Count John O'Byrne purchased the estate in the 19th century and lived there until 1930. The Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary came to Sean Ross Abbey in 1932.
St. Anne's School opened in February 1971. It provides specialist services students 4 to 18 years of age who may present with either a severe/profound general learning disability, or with autism.
Mother and baby home
A mother and baby home operated at Sean Ross from about 1932 to 1970. Illegitimate babies born in the home were put up for adoption, many of them in the United States. What records are available for Sean Ross adoptions are held by the Health Service Executive. Martin Sixsmith's book, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee and the film Philomena, based on it, concern the controversial adoption of Michael A. Hess, born Anthony Lee to Philomena Lee at Sean Ross Abbey in 1952. The graves of an unknown number of mothers and babies are located in the unmarked area known as the Angels Plot. In February 2018, the sisters put up for sale a large part of the campus, exclusive of St. Anne's school and the cemeteries, which will continue to be maintained by the congregation, and remain accessible.
