The Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo parish church of St Patrick's had not anticipated it would be the focus of such attention this weekend, when it hosted the funeral of Pte Kedian. Few of those who travelled many miles for the sad occasion will have noticed that the soldier's parish church building has never been finished.
Even the local mosque, built at the height of the Halal meat plant's success, is more complete than St Patrick's. Although Halal, or UMP, has been through many hands since - most recently those of Dawn Meats - the mosque on the Claremorris road still has a regular congregation of Syrians with Mayo accents.
When it was designed over 90 years ago, Ballyhaunis's Catholic church included a spire. However, that detail was never incorporated in the construction.
At a public meeting last October, it was decided that the millennium could not be let pass without such an important addition. Hence the fund-raising efforts for the estimated cost of £170,000 to £220,000.
The appeal has been circulated far and wide to Ballyhaunis people here and overseas. Father Joseph Cooney of the Parochial House has agreed to collect the donations, and it is hoped that the project will be finished in time to ring in the next 1,000 years.