An Irish boatbuilder is celebrating a few seconds of fame
for one of his creations in the new trailer for a hugely popular TV series.

One of the two wooden boats Tiernan Roe built for HBO’s
Game of Thrones can be seen on fire half way through the season three trailer.

Tiernan, of Roe Boats, was commissioned to build two
identical boats, based on Norwegian Faerings, in just three weeks.

The 39-year-old, from Ballydehob, County Cork, cut short a
sailing trip in Spain to fly home early and work solidly to get
the job done.

He said: ‘The boats were based on Norwegian Faering but I made
the planking look like that of a Gokstad large funeral ship.

‘It was total fantasy. They wanted a boat that would float
and fully function as a boat yet also be built as a prop.’

Tiernan’s past experience of making special effects for TV in Germany made him the man for the job.

He adds: ‘It was interesting because there was the deadline
and it was quite creative. I had to tweak the concept to make it function
properly.

‘It was three sold weeks of work for two guys. It went
quite well. I realised with the old fashioned planking you’ve got the big sweep
at the bow and stern, which made it a lot easier to fit.’

Tiernan, who has been busy recently working
on an interior refit of a Squib keel boat,
developing plans for the Belfast Lough One
Design ‘Jewel‘ class designed by Linton Hope and
building a 16ft micro cruiser for a repeat client, hopes the one-off
TV job will lead to more, similar work.

Filming for the latest Game of Thrones series took place
over the summer in the Lough Neagh area of Northern Ireland.

Despite seeing his creation set alight in the footage,
Tiernan is happy.

He said: ‘It’s way cool. Watch it and you’ll see the boat around the middle of the clip, don’t blink or you’ll miss it. It’s the one on fire.’

He adds: ‘I don’t want to tell too many trade secrets but
there’s a gas fire inside the boat. Although it could get burnt it’s not
actually on fire.

‘I’m looking forward to seeing the new series. It’s based on
the Games of Thrones books and my
brother is big into it.

‘He said in the books the boat plays quite a pivotal
part in the story as part of the succession right of the king. So hopefully it
will be part of a big scene.’

Follow this link to watch the season three trailer.

Tiernan can be contacted via http://roeboats.com/