Community raises funds to support Tobi Omoteso through surgery and recovery

Community raises funds to support Tobi Omoteso through surgery and recovery. Photo: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick

The Limerick community and beyond come together to support Tobi Omoteso following an attack which left him in need of emergency eye surgery

By I Love Limerick Editor, Cian Reinhardt

Celebrations turned toa dark day for Tobi Omoteso, known in dance and hip hop circles throughout Limerick and beyond, as an attack on Saturday, March 28, left the dancer and teacher with a damaged iris requiring surgery.

Tobi noted on the GoFundMe page that following the attack, he is “now facing a long, agonising road of surgeries” that may help him “cling to a fraction of the vision I once took for granted”.

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Sharing his story, Tobi spoke about Saturday, saying, “That is the day the world went dark. It was the day I learned that the senseless violence you see in movies, the kind of nightmare you assume only happens to strangers, can hunt you down in your own neighbourhood.”

Following a successful Top 8 Hip Hop and Streetdance festival, which brought the dance community together in Limerick, the dancer said what was supposed to be a celebration quickly became a nightmare.

“We had just finished packing the car, the seats heavy with gear and equipment for the 5th edition of our Hip-hop and Street Dance community festival in Limerick that I co-founded and had been working in across Ireland for over 12 years. It was a day meant for music, DJing, streetdance, movement, graffiti, art, unity and having fun for all regardless of race, religion, gender, age and ability. Instead, it became the end of life as I knew it.”

Tobi explained as he tried to leave his estate in his car, a man he says was parked carelessly, obstructing traffic, “a brief exchange” occurred, noting,”Something snapped in him. He chose me.”

Omoteso said he was pursued by the man through the streets of Limerick before the man forced his way in front of him at a well-known roundabout, “He followed me through the streets of Limerick, chasing me toward a well-known roundabout where he finally forced his way in front of me, swerving to cut off any hope of escape. I watched, paralysed, as he stepped out of his vehicle, wielding a wooden bat.”

The man, who has not been named, began to hit Tobi’s car, Omoteso writes, “Then he struck and shattered the driver’s side window with the wooden bat, which exploded shards of glass, like tiny knives, sprayed across my face and buried themselves deep into both of my eyes.”

Tobi says his iris has been sliced in one of his eyes, leaving him in need of a number of surgeries, saying, “I am battling an onset of cataract and a ruptured lens capsule, both of which must be surgically removed.”

Thanking all of those who have supported, who as of April 1, 2026 have donated €46,000, Tobi said, “Once the surgeons have finished rebuilding what was destroyed, and once the wounds have finally scarred over, I will be left to wait. Only then will I know how much of the light I get to keep, and how much of it was stolen by a stranger with a wooden bat on that Saturday afternoon. Appreciate any contributions, and please stay safe out there.”

You can donate to Tobi’s fundraiser through GoFundMe here.