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Press release

Minister Murnane O'Connor announces winners of the 2025 Get SunSmart! Art Competition

Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor has today announced the winners of the fourth annual Get SunSmart! Art Competition.

The competition, which received entries from all over the country, was run in partnership with Healthy Ireland and the National Cancer Control Programme in the Health Service Executive (HSE), as part of the annual SunSmart campaign which aims to raise awareness and adoption of skin protective behaviours.

The winners for 2025 are:

  • Pre-schools – Alex Faconer, aged 4 from Piltown Co. Kilkenny
  • Junior Infants to 1st Class – Mohammad Salaar, aged 6 from Ringsend, Dublin 4
  • 2nd to 4th Class – Irene Mariam Mathew, aged 10 from Blackrock, Co. Cork
  • 5th and 6th Class – Alexandru Grati, aged 11 from Clonee, Dublin 15

Depending on their age group, children were tasked with either colouring in the SunSmart 5Ss picture or drawing their own picture illustrating how to be SunSmart.

Minister Murnane O’Connor said:

“Children’s skin is particularly vulnerable to sun damage, and instilling healthy habits in our children at a young age is vital for their health later in life.

“I want to congratulate our winners, and all the runners up, for their fantastic entries, which displayed such talent, creativity, and originality. They should be hugely proud of their achievements in not only doing so well in the competition but in helping to spread our SunSmart message.

“Skin cancer is almost entirely preventable, yet it is the most common cancer in Ireland with over 11,000 new cases per year. We know that severe sunburn during childhood (three or more instances before the age of 20) is associated with a two to four times higher risk of developing melanoma skin cancer in later life. Reducing rates of skin cancer is a significant part of our drive to improve overall population health, and this starts by instilling good skin protection behaviours in childhood.”

To be SunSmart you need to follow the 5Ss of the SunSmart code, from April to September, even on cloudy days:

Slip on clothing that covers your skin such as wearing long sleeves and collared t-shirts.

Slop on broad-spectrum (UVA/UVB) water-resistant sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30+ for adults and 50+ for children, with high UVA protection. Reapply regularly.

Slap on a hat with a wide brim: Protect your face, ears and neck.

Seek shade: Sit in cover of trees to avoid direct sunlight and use a sunshade on your buggy or pram. Keep babies and children out of direct sunlight.

Slide on sunglasses to protect your eyes.

Visit www.gov.ie/getsunsmart to learn more about the 5Ss of the SunSmart code.

More information on the winners and on the winning artwork can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/svSM8SMPLIo

Notes to Editors:

The Get SunSmart! Art Competition is part of the SunSmart campaign, an initiative under the National Skin Cancer Prevention Plan 2023-2026. It uses a range of platforms to highlight its core messages about skin protective behaviours. More information is available at www.hse.ie/sunsmart

Each winner receives an OPW Family Heritage Card, a family day pass for Dublin Zoo, a national book token worth €20 and a Healthy Ireland SunSmart goodie bag. Each category winner will also have their artwork featured as part of the 2025 SunSmart campaign.