The Association of Optometrists Ireland has advised people to take precautions against eye damage when viewing next month's total eclipse of the Sun.
More than 250 million Europeans are expected to view the eclipse on August 11th. Mr Mark Daly, president of the association, said: "It takes only five seconds for permanent damage to occur. Don't put yourself at risk. View the eclipse indirectly."
The safest way to do this is by using a pinhole viewer through which the image of the eclipse can be projected.
People should not use sunglasses, film negatives, smoked glass, solar filters, camera lenses, binoculars or telescopes, even those with eyepiece covers.