Old Moore's Almanac

Old Moore's Almanac is an almanac which has been published for nearly two and a half centuries. Its founder, Theophilus Moore, ran a classical academy at Milltown which was then a village near Dublin (since that time, it has been incorporated into the city). A teacher of Irish, English, Greek and Latin, he became known as a clever mathematician and a veritable wizard of astrology, gaining the nickname 'The Irish Merlin'. He published his Old Moore's Almanac for the first time in 1764, and received such support that the other Irish almanacs gradually dwindled away. Theophilus Moore is now buried in the Drumcondra Churchyard, in Dublin, but the tradition of Old Moore's Almanac continues unbroken to this day.

The Old Moore's Almanac is not to be confused with Old Moore's Almanack (with a "k"), an English publication dating from 1697.

The Old Moore's Almanac is published annually in November. The current owners of the Old Moore's Almanac possess back issues dating from 1914 onwards. The magazine has traditionally been a resource for the agricultural community in rural Ireland. However since its re-launch in 2010, the magazine is now full colour and now has full editorial features. Topics include the revival of lost Irish traditions, technology, urban farming, country sporting pursuits, unusual breeds of animals, recipes, hints and tips, the paranormal, traditional medicine, horoscopes, and an analysis of antique issues of the Almanac (pre-1950). The circulation of the hard copy is around 45,000, with most sales achieved in Athlone, Dublin, Galway and Cork. The predictions are the most popular section of the Almanac. The in-house psychic remains anonymous, often quoting that he "likes to stay under the radar" and away from public life.

Predictions for 2013

The almanac also includes monthly predictions in a whimsical style, for Ireland and the world. The weather predictions always receive a lot of attention in Ireland, where the weather is a highly-prized conversation subject. The 2013 predictions include:

• January
  • The debt crisis in Europe will get worse before it gets better. Ireland will be pulled into more detailed restructuring and market fiddling to save our bacon. Tiger Woods will find love this year, but he won’t stay faithful. Silvio Berlusconi is all over the news in 2013, as is the Vatican. Again. January’s weather will be surprisingly okay, considering that this year again will have miserable weather. It’s not as cold and dark as in previous years, but the light icy rain will be ever-present. Across the world, it will continue to freak us out...storms, volcanoes, hurricanes and droughts all where they are not supposed to be.

• February
  • There will be a series of art thefts across the world, and Ireland will not be left out of this scandal. There will be an attack on the Eiffel Tower this year. There will be mass UFO sightings, in the Far East in particular, and over Europe. The weather will be cold and grey in February, however there will be a stretch in February where we get blue skies and perfect winter days. Overall it will be better weather than in 2012, but not by much. Sigh.

• March
  • Irish grain harvests are poor this year, prices on everything made from grain shoot up. Greece’s approach to the euro has a knock-on effect for Ireland. Elton John will be in the news in 2013. Dangerous weather patterns will continue across earth. There will be a cold March and a late spring for Ireland and the dreary weather continues to block us from vitamin D uptake.

• April
  • Irish people will have problems accessing the web for several days, and there will be problems with this across Europe. Whitney Houston’s family will have scandal and financial problems. Mitt Romney will be caught in a financial scandal that will be explosive when it comes to light. Rihanna is battling addiction / dangerous sexual behaviour and will go into treatment. April showers are more like April slushies blasting us from the sky. We will get a really good week, possibly in the middle of April, but they rest of April will be dreary.

• May
  • Another blow for the Irish housing market. There will be a divorce in the Kardashian family. Sylvester Stallone will have some sort of heart surgery. Lady Gaga will be diagnosed with a serious illness, like Lupus. Steve Martin will be in the news for reasons other than the movies. Hulk Hogan will have serious health issues. Weather-wise, hopefully you still have your super-strong umbrella from 2012. You are going to need it this May. And you can safely get your sunscreen and toss it in the bin. Sigh.

• June
  • There will be baby news for Dawn Porter and Chris O’Dowd, but heartache too. All over the world there will be more flooding than ever before, unexpected hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons and storms and towns and cities will disappear. Ireland is affected by this. Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher will break up. Donald Trump will have serious health issues and his heart is not faring so well. Britney Spears will have a baby girl, and things get so much better for her. June is going to be one of the best weather months, although this isn’t saying much.

• July
  • Another world financial crisis is due. Ireland is caught up in this. There will be pension crisis after pension crisis, and Ireland will be no exception. Power surges in the USA leads to weeks of no power. Buy a generator and back up everything on your computer if you are heading over there. The weather in July will be better than in 2012, but it is still not looking anything like a Spanish holiday. It will be humid and misty and rainy.

• August
  • Autism numbers soar in Ireland. However these children will change the world due to their aptness for technology. An Irish fashion model makes the news for all the wrong reasons. There will be earthquakes for east and west coasts of USA and for the west coast of Japan. There will be a big earthquake for California. August weather gives us hope that Mother Nature will pull herself out of the mire in 2014. While the first and last weeks are a bit dodgy, the middle two weeks will be nice, so if you are planning to holiday in Ireland, do it then.

• September
  • Paranormal activity increases in 2013. A female news reporter will make the news herself. A male American Newscaster will have a shocking untimely death. Cruise ship problems will continue around the world. The weather in September will surprise us. It will be both pleasure and pain, with a fine line between. You’ll be freezing and sunburnt at the same time.

• October
  • Michael Flatley will make the news in 2013. Bono will also be in the news, and so will Jedward, all for reasons other than entertainment reasons. Someone has being doing something dodgy with their money. There will be five major discoveries in science and medicine technology in 2013, and one of them will turn our way of thinking on its head. Two new planets will be discovered, one will be bright blue. The weather will draw in and will be sharply cold very quickly. One day we will be poncing around in a shirt, and the next we will have everything wrapped up in ten layers. It will stay dark and cold from October onwards with nary a nice winter’s day to be seen.

• November
  • There will be a high-profile bus accident in Ireland. A serial killer will be caught in the USA and his crimes will be unbelievable. A giant sandstorm for the Middle East. The queen will have health issues. November will sport some promising winter days with light snow. The light snow will hang around for a while, without disrupting our lives. But the kids will be sledding so it’s all good.

• December
  • Proteins will be on sale without the killing of animals, and Irish scientists will be involved in this. Adele will have some baby news. Alien stories will be flooding the news. The march to a cashless society continues. Old Moore is dreaming of a white Christmas. All through December we will see a smattering of snow. It will be enough to make the parks look like a wonderland, but it won’t create panic and embarrassing slipping on ice in front of your friends.

See also

• Old Farmer's Almanac
• Farmers' Almanac
• Poor Richard's Almanack

External links

• Official site
• Facebook Page
• Twitter Account