#ON THE TV-It's just over a year ago to when filming took place for parts of the TV Movie "Treasure Island" off Dalkey Island, as previously reported on Afloat.ie. Fans of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson 18th century tale can look forward to this new two-part adaptation starring Eddie Izzard as the one-legged pirate, Long John Silver, on New Year's Day on Sky 1 HD at 7pm and also at the same time on 2nd January, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Joining the Emmy award winning Izzard is BBC TV series Spooks actor Rupert Penry-Jones and Hollywood stars Donald Sunderland and Elijah Wood.

The nautical scenes where set on board Square Sails tallship, the barque Earl of Pembroke which used Dun Laoghaire Harbour as a base. During the Irish scenes, the production crew and members of the cast had to endure the bitterly artic-like conditions of last winter's big freeze as the 174-tonnes barque was off The Muglins Lighthouse with a camera-equipped helicopter whirling above.

Following the shoot in Ireland which involved Dun Laoghaire based Parallel Film Productions and the Irish National Sailing School (INSS) which provided marine co-ordination services for the drama commissioned by Sky 1 HD TV Chanel, the shoot re-located to Puerto Rico in the Caribbean.

To watch a first look-official trailer of the long-awaited swashbuckling adventure click HERE and for more about the drama including a Q&A with the cast click HERE.

Ahoy me hearties...Dublin Bay is to become the setting for "Treasure Island", the classic adventure story by Robert Louis Stephenson, with filming scheduled next month, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 145-foot Earl of Pembroke, a three-masted barque will be centre-stage. Shooting is expected to start in early November for the made for TV movie which is to be broadcast in two parts.

Dun Laoghaire's strategic location on Dublin Bay with close proximity of Dalkey Island, Killiney Bay and Wicklow Mountains to the south coupled with the backdrop of Howth Peninsula, will provide plenty of scope for cinema-photography.

With the Earl of Pembroke to be based in Dun Laoghaire, the harbour town is also home to the film's production company Parallel Film Productions which has included works such as Amongst Women, Breakast on Pluto and the TV series, The Clinic for RTE. In addition the locally based Irish National Sailing School (INSS) on the West Pier, aside from operating sailing activities, have also built up a strong reputation in marine-support and equipment services for film, TV and advertising. Projects have included the films, Saving Private Ryan, Into The West and TV series The Tudors.

The 350-tonnes, Earl of Pembroke is by no means just a floating prop. Launched as Orion, the vessel was built at Pukvik, Sweden in 1948 and for nearly three decades she sailed the North Sea on the timber trade from the Baltic Sea to British ports until laid-up in Denmark in 1974.

The vessel lanquished for several years but in 1979, Cornwall based Square Sail purchased her. In 1985 the vessel underwent a complete restoration programme and in 1994 the vessel re-emerged as a 18th century barque. Among the many film roles, she became the HMS Hotspur in the TV series 'Hornblower'. This year the vessel was involved in a major pirate themed mini-series for French TV which was shot in Corsica. Square Sail's specialisation in providing 'tall-ships' for the film industry also includes the vessels, Keskalot and Pheonix.