Clara (Clóirtheach or An Clárach in Irish) is a town on the River Brosna in County Offaly and is the 10th largest town in the midlands of Ireland. The town has a population of 3001 (2006 census), however a number of well populated housing estates lie outside the town boundary making the actual population higher. Clara has plenty of local services including churches, banks, credit union, schools, supermarkets, shops, garages, pubs, nightclubs and restaurants. It has its own Garda(police) and fire station while the Midlands regional hospital is located just seven miles away in Tullamore. Clara has a strong association with sport. The successful GAA club looks after Gaelic football and hurling from under 8 to senior level. Clara also has a successful junior soccer club. The town has two swimming pools and a successful pitch and putt club. Clara's power lifting club has won a number of national and international awards. A golf driving range is located in the town also with the Esker Hills golf club located just outside the town. There is a local equestrian centre and sports centre also.
The Santa Clara Valley (also known as Silicon Valley) is a valley just south of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. Much of Santa Clara County and its county seat, San José, are in the Santa Clara Valley. The valley was originally known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight for its high concentration of orchards, flowering trees, and plants. Until the 1960s it was the largest fruit production and packing region in the world, with 39 canneries. Once primarily agricultural because of its highly fertile soil, it is now largely urbanized, although its far southern reaches south of Gilroy remain rural. Silicon Valley is roughly coterminous with the Santa Clara Valley, although since the former is as much a state of mind as an actual location, people often refer to parts of the San Francisco Peninsula as being part of Silicon Valley as well. Locally, the Santa Clara Valley is also referred to as the "South Bay." Few traces of its agricultural past can still be found, but the Santa Clara Valley American Viticultural Area remains a large wine-making region. It is the first commercial wine-producing region in California (and possibly the United States), utilizing high-quality French varietal vines imported from France.