Why did professional bardic poetry largely disappear after 1650?

Professional bardic poetry in Ireland largely disappeared after 1650 due to the collapse of the Gaelic social and political order during the 17th century. The bards functioned as dependents and propagandists for the Irish and Anglo-Irish nobility; as these noble classes were dispossessed by British colonization and military campaigns—such as those led by Oliver Cromwell—the patronage system that sustained the bardic order was destroyed.12

With the elimination of their patrons, the professional bards lost their livelihood and social standing, marking the end of the traditional bardic poetic system. Following 1650, the rigid, syllable-measured verse of the bards was replaced by song meters that utilized stress-based lines and simple vocalic assonance, reflecting a shift toward the language and culture of the common people. This transition signaled a broader decline in the dominance of Gaelic civilization and the beginning of a long period of cultural and linguistic change in Ireland.12