In 2007 the town of Callan, Co Kilkenny, celebrated its 8th centenary. As part of that commemoration, Fr James O"Halloran SDB, a native of the town, was asked to give an address entitled "The Church and World of the Future". This speech addressed the countless people from the town who were compelled to take the emigrant ship, or plane, in search of a new life or dream. They, or their descendants, are now scattered throughout the globe. Several of them have had a considerable impact on the lands of their exile. O"Halloran says that the historical travails and triumphs of Callan were - and still are - mirrored elsewhere on the planet: "The small town is the world, the world the small town", he says.