I was told that corned beef is rare in Ireland - that, in general, beef is rare in Ireland. As far as I can tell, corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes is probably more properly called "New England Boiled Dinner" - at least, that's what they call in in the diners around Boston.
I had something similar in Ireland, but the meat was gammon, the Irish bacon referred to above. It was cured pork that tasted like something between ham and corned beef.
So, we took advantage of the sales and had a New England Boiled Dinner tonight. And everybody thought it was Irish, and everybody said I was a wonderful cook.
-Joe-