Financial incentives to have babies, drama in Germany and Mark Zuckerberg marriage woes – 2026 predictions according to Old Moore’s Almanac
The popular magazine publishes prophecies each year, many of which come true including Storm Éowyn this year
Originally, the predictions of Offaly man Theophilus Moore - known as the Irish Merlin - the Almanac is lauded for its accuracy.Many of his forecasts have been accurate, such as the 2008 financial crash, a pandemic, an attempt on Donald Trump’s life and that Joe Biden would step down before the US election.Others included that Kate Middleton already had a baby on board before it was announced, and that the baby’s name would be Charlotte, that Kanye West would have mental health problems and that there would be “submarine drama”, which turned out to be the Titan submersible disaster.Old Moore’s Almanac will be 262 years old in 2026. It is one of the oldest almanacs in the world, with some editions more than 250 years old still sitting in the Long Room Library in Trinity.One of its latest predictions for 2026 – that Ireland will face huge drama at the Eurovision, has already materialised – the oracle publication was even ahead of itself.Ireland will now boycott the song contest over Israel’s planned participation, with RTÉ maintaining that it will not broadcast the competition.Other foretellings for next year include an assassination warning around Keir Starmer, that the Irish immigration debate will continue to rage with a new political party forming, a “wild” political situation in Germany with “assassination attempts, cheating scandals,” and the Dublin housing market getting worse.More global and general visions include people falling in love with robots, cruise ship drama, a remake of the controversial Fyre festival, an avalanche cluster, no more movie studios as movies, commercials and video games will be made with AI, financial incentives for babies all over the world, Joe Biden in the news for non-political reasons and Mark Zuckerberg marriage peril.The Almanac’s predictions that rang true for 2025 included a new pope, with Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, inaugurated this year.Old Moore also predicted “dating changes, apps in the bin”, and with the likes of stalwart industry contenders Tinder and Bumble seeing a downturn in users, it seems the apps are firmly out of favour.More than one plane crash was foreshadowed, with multiple plane crashes occurring in the past year, including the tragic Air India flight with only one survivor.A mass return to religion was another vision. Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September, there has been somewhat of a religious revival, particularly in America.“Life-changing storms,” were predicted for Ireland, which materialised as Storm Éowyn in January, causing mass power outages and wind gusts that exceeded 130kmh across Ireland.Internal conflict over immigration was on the list too, accurately predicting a year of large protests and immigration reform discussions in both Ireland and the UK.Robots in our homes was also forecast, with humanoid adoption beginning, with preorders for models like the NEO home robot being driven by ageing populations.Previous predictions that came true this year included Conor McGregor’s run for president.In its 2022 predictions, the publication said: “As for Conor McGregor, he will enter politics delicately to test the waters.”It finally came true in 2025 but McGregor failed to secure a nomination to contest the election for the Áras.
