Irish Examiner view: Everyone’s free (to wear sunscreen)

Hospital emergency departments have enough to deal with

It was the Greeks who invented irony, and they would have appreciated the joke that the lifting of the international travel ban on the hotspots of Europe has coincided exactly with soaring temperatures in Ireland which would not be out of place in the valleys, mountains, and olive groves of Arcadia.

While high temperatures still have a novelty value which makes them enjoyable in the Republic, they also bring dangers to which we are unused ― wildfires, dehydration, and high levels of UV.

In Wales, several children have been hospitalised with excessive sunburn, while emergency departments, which really have enough to deal with already, report significant numbers of adults presenting for treatment.

Many people remember Baz Luhrmann’s philosophical late 1990s earworm 'Everyone’s Free', which reached number one in the Republic. 

You really can trust him on the sunscreen. 

Get it on, and keep an eye open for friends, neighbours, and old and young people to ensure that they are not taking unnecessary risks during this very hot spell.