Ye Olde Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio, History museum in Martello Tower, Howth, Ireland

Ye Olde Hurdy Gurdy Museum occupies a round Martello tower in Howth, built 1804–1806 with walls of split stone, a 12.2 m diameter and 7.3 m height. Its collection, begun by Pat Herbert, includes an Edison phonograph and a French receiver disguised as a portrait of Rita Hayworth.

The tower was built in 1805 as one of 26 Martello towers around Dublin against a Napoleonic invasion. From 1825 the Preventative Water Guard used it against smuggling, and in 1852 it became the Irish terminus of the telegraph cable to Holyhead. Lee de Forest made a successful radio transmission from here to Holyhead on 23 November 1903, and Marconi later used the tower for experiments.

The collection was gathered by Pat Herbert, who began assembling radio equipment in the 1950s and dedicated himself to preserving telecommunications heritage. Visitors can see how people experienced and used communication across the decades.

The tower stands on the Howth peninsula, on the coast north-east of Dublin, and is reached by the DART commuter rail to Howth station. The museum occupies a Martello tower with a first-floor entrance reached by a stair or ladder, so access is not step-free. It is run by volunteers, and the Morse-code station EI0MAR operates from inside.

The museum operates an amateur radio station called EI0MAR through which visitors can make direct connections with radio operators around the world. This active network brings history to life through living radio traffic.