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How did alliteration and rhyme develop in early Irish verse?

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An overview of the Irish language — Celtic literature Britannica editor Jeff Wallenfeldt provides an overview of the Irish language.

In early Irish verse, alliteration and rhyme served as foundational structural elements that evolved over time.

Alliteration

The earliest form of Irish verse utilized alliteration to link two half-lines, a system reminiscent of early Germanic poetry. This technique was also a key feature of alliterative rhythmical prose, which was frequently employed in sagas.1

Rhyme

Rhyme emerged as a formal requirement in Irish verse beginning in the 7th century. This system required that rhyming words share the same vowel and syllabic length, while their consonants had to belong to the same phonetic class—a method also observed in early Welsh poetry.1

The development of specific verse forms further integrated these devices:
* Quatrains: Derived from Latin hymn meters, these typically consisted of seven or eight syllables per line, with rhyme established between the second and fourth lines.1
* Debide: Meaning "cut in two," this popular meter consisted of two couplets where the two lines of each couplet rhymed. The eventual adoption of this loose form made rhyming easier and encouraged the creation of mnemonic verse.1