I had the same experience. I looked it up afterwards. Recent arrivals in NYC in the 1800s tried to celebrate Paddy's day with a traditional ham and cabbage mea

I had the same experience. I looked it up afterwards. Recent arrivals in NYC in the 1800s tried to celebrate Paddy's day with a traditional ham and cabbage meal. However, the local Jewish butchers didn't serve ham. Also, the Irish were super poor, and corned beef was the cheapest thing they could get. So corned-beef and cabbage is an Irish-American tradition, but not an Irish one.