Man arrested in connection with assault on Limerick artist 

Assault on Tobi Omoteso in March left him blinded in one eye

Tobi Omoteso at Elizabeth Fort in 2021 prior to taking part in a Cork Midsummer Festival event. Mr Omoteso was assaulted in Limerick City last month. File picture: Clare Keogh

A man has been arrested in connection with the assault of a Limerick artist who was left blinded in one eye.

The incident occurred in the Old Cratloe Rd area of Limerick City on March 28 at approximately 10.30am.

The artist, Tobi Omoteso, was "tailed through the streets of Limerick" after packing up his car following a hip-hop community festival.

Gardaí have now arrested a man aged in his 20s, who is currently being detained under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.

'Shards of glass' in Mr Omoteso's eyes

Mr Omoteso said the man struck his car with a wooden bat during the assault, shattering the driver's window of his car in the process. 

This led to shards of glass like "tiny knives, sprayed across my face and buried themselves deep into both of my eyes".

He said the assault resulted in a "long" road of surgeries, to "cling to a fraction of the vision" he once "took for granted".

Mr Omoteso added his iris was "sliced in half" and had to be stitched back together, and that he now has an "onset cataract and a ruptured lens capsule", both of which must be surgically removed.

Over €72k has been raised for Mr Omoteso on a fundraising page.