The 'real' Irish Riviera is, of course, in Ireland. Its the sunny section of coast favoured by the rich 100 years ago betwen Cork and Waterford cities. Its now a major holiday destination centred on Youghal.But whilst your part of New England has taken the name of this part if Ireland, Youghal has also passed itself off as part of New England. The old harbour was the setting for the 1954 film Moby Dick, and the town of New Bedford. This year we are celebrating 50 years since the filming, and are trying to assemble as many of locals - who appeared as extra's - as are still surviving. Our serach has so far crossed Europe, we may yet find one of the missing names amongst your own community!

I have never heard the South Shore referred to as the Irish Riviera. (That's ridiculous and pretentious.)Only Scituate.

I agree with adam.And, hey, I grew up in Marshfield and never even heard of Scituate being referred to as the Irish Riviera.

I agree with Adam and Graeme. I lived on the South Shore for most of my live and have never heard that term before.

When I was still living in Massachusetts, I often heard the South Shore referred to as the "Irish Riviera." In fact, I can remember the first time I heard it. I was going to a party in Cohasset. When I picked up my girlfriend, her (Italian) father asked us where the party was. When we told him, he said, "Oh...the Irish Riviera, huh?"I now live on the Jersey Shore. The town of Spring Lake, NJ, is also referred to as "The Irish Riviera." It's a lot like Duxbury, Cohasset and Marshfield...lots of old seaside Victorian mansions and well-heeled families with Irish last names.

I heard it from my parents when we lived in Scituate in the late 60's. Supposedly the name was coined when the Kennedys headed for Hiannis, but ran out of money in Scituate.-Jay

Just because you've never heard it before doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Most of the Irish from Scituate came here in the early and late 19th Century.Then Scituate had it's own Casino out in the Glades..did you know that ?The irish catholics of greater boston summered down on the riviera in post war years.

In Boston it's used for Castle island and Carson Beach.More ironic than the Scituate use I suppose since it's not luxurious by any stretch.

I grew up in the Riviera. I think the title is popularly used in irony. I always understood it to imply the result of the "White Flight" of Irish-Americans from Boston to the South Shore at the start of busing.

Absolutely, Scituate was well known as "the Irish Riviera"! My Irish American family summered in North Scituate, close to the Hatherly Country Club, from 1935 to 1978, in the same house, owned by my family. ALL of our neighbors had Irish surnames and most were, to be frank, upper middle class in terms of $$, hence the "Riviera" part of the name. Heck, we kids all went to the same St. Frances Cabrini chapel for Saturday night confession and daily or Sunday Mass, and we all hailed from Irish sections of places like West Roxbury, Belmont, Cambridge and also even Brookline. During the 60's, when I was a teenager hanging out with all of the other "summer house" teens, it was jokingly referred to as the Irish Riviera. We had one or two Italian families, great people, but I would imagine that they felt outnumbered!It was kind of funny: Most of the summer people had big summer houses like us, but so many, in retrospect, seemed kind of stuck on status. Not all acted like that, but several did and they were, many, pretty darned prosperous.Scituate in those days was sheer heaven for us lucky kids - swim, play, ride, use a row boat, hang out, all day and evening. Can you imagine this: We all boarded up our houses for the winter and came back with no burgularies (well, a few, but not many). It was remarkable. Now those very same houses are "winterized" and not the same. It just isn't the same place anymore.