Big celebrations for WW2 veteran Joe at Whitewater Shopping Centre!
A very special daily visitor at Whitewater Shopping Centre is Joe Woods who this week celebrated his 98th birthday. A former World War 2 veteran, Joe was joined by members of the Royal British Legion of Ireland, who stated they “felt privileged to be present at the Whitewater Shopping Centre on Monday last, for Joe’s birthday celebrations.
![[caption id="attachment_274557" align="alignnone" width="300"] Author, friend and former soldier, Zorin Zmiric who also works in Security at Whitewater with Joe[/caption]](https://www.kildarenow.com/jpim-static/image/2026/04/29/19/iconic-upload-2019-04-10172637-46-300x207.jpg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65)
The Whitewater Shopping Centre management and the people of Newbridge have taken Joe to their hearts and it was lovely to see so many take the opportunity to stop by and congratulate him. Joe has been residing in Newbridge for 20 years now and the Kildare Post heard that many of the businesses stand Joe a complimentary cuppa and he is partial to an ice cream in Gino’s.
Whitewater staff joined Joe and members of the British Legion on Monday and made sure he had a birthday party to remember. Amongst the revellers was Zorin Zmiric. A native of Croatia, Zorin has become a close friend of Joe’s, Zorin being a member of the security team at Whitewater. With a half dozen novels published, Arthur’s ‘Blockbuster’ by Zorin, a tale of war, was Book of the Year in Croatia. The former soldier, now author and security man, has plenty in common with Joe so the pair love a chat discussing their mutual experiences.
“We take the opportunity to thank Pat Mulcahy (Limerick Br), Pam Roche (Dublin Central), Dave Levins (Claddagh Br) and Sgt Eamon Byrne of the Irish Air Corps for their assistance with Joe’s medals; our Standard Bearers for making time to come on a Monday - Joe was simply delighted to see them both and the work done” said a spokesperson for the Legion.
A special thanks too to Joe’s good friends Tony O’Connor and Marie McDonnell for making it possible for the Legion to contribute so significantly to today’s event. Tony is also arranging for Joe to receive a replacement Liberation Memorial Medal from the Danish Embassy — so watch this space in the coming weeks. A Happy Birthday wish is extended to Joe from staff and management at Whitewater SC, many of the businesses also sponsored Joe’s 98th birthday party: “It’s a pleasure to serve you, Joe!”
Featured photo shows Jane Gosnell and Gemma Kelly of Carraig Donn, which was one of the retailers in Whitewater who sponsored Joe's birthday party