Repeated episodes of severe sunburn during childhood doubles the risk of developing skin cancer in later life.
That's according to a new study from NUI Galway and the Institute of Public Health which found that 90% of schoolchildren have been sunburned once in their life - while 74% said it happened in the past year.
8 out of 10 schoolchildren reported wearing sunscreen, while 7 out of 10 said they wear sunglasses on sunny days.
Kevin O'Hagan from the Irish Cancer Society says the results are worrying.
"We are really concerned about the levels of sunburn among young people, because we know that getting repeated sunburn increases the chances of getting skin cancer later in life.
"We know that there are over 12,000 cases of skin cancer in Ireland, and getting sunburned certainly increases the risk."
