Three pre-cancerous lesions have been removed from Brian O'Hara's face in recent years. A golf professional at Rathfarnham Golf Club, he spends "loads of time outside in the elements."
Brian believes that this, combined with a stint in Australia in the 1970s - - when "everyone was baking themselves to death looking for the Baywatch suntan" - is the reason why he got skin cancer.
"I was lucky I was aware of what to look out for and I went to the doctor. When I went to St Luke's Hospital and saw other people there I realised just how lucky I was. The problem in this country is ignorance."
Now he is much more conscious and puts on sun protection cream before he goes out, and not just on obviously sunny days.
Brian was one of the sports people involved in the launching yesterday of the Irish Cancer Society Sun-Smart Sports Campaign. The aim is to highlight the hazards of excessive exposure to sun while playing outdoor sports.
Consultant dermatologist Dr Gillian Murphy said that as people who play sport tend to spend so much time outdoors, they are particularly vulnerable to over-exposure to the sun's powerful ultraviolet rays.
"It is cumulative exposure to this UV radiation which causes the vast majority of skin cancers."
Dublin footballer Charlie Redmond says he has been badly sunburnt during matches. While GAA players tend to protect their faces, generally their legs are left without sun cream, he said.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Ireland. More than 7,000 Irish people develop the disease each year and the number is on the increase. Most skin cancers are completely curable if detected and treated early. The sun's ultraviolet rays cause 90 per cent of skin cancers, and these are preventable. But a rare type, malignant melanoma, which accounts for seven per cent of skin cancers, can be fatal if not caught in time.
Ms Avril Gillatt, health promotion manager with the Irish Cancer Society, said people should wear a hat with a brim and a shirt, or T-shirt with a collar.
She also said that sports people should use a sun screen with sun protection SPF15 or higher, and take particular care at mid-day when the sun is at its hottest.