Hello Jack
Don't let talk about crashes bother you.
Our planes are made of wood, just so we can glue bits back on when we do have a bumpy landing !
It's no problem, except you don't get to fly again on that particular day.
But next day the planes is repaired and ready to go again. Except it's a little heavier (with more glue inside) !

Where are you in Dublin?

On the South side of the city it is dublin Kestrel Model Flying Club. They fly a couple of miles past the Square at Tallaght.
In the centre it is Leinster model Flying Club and they fly in the Phoenix Park.
If you want to go to the Dublin Mountains to try slope soaring, you don't need a club. the slope soaring contact is Ireland Slope Soaring Site though the planes for slope soaring are different in design. You can take a look at the soaring website and see what the guys fly in the local area to you. there are over 50 Irish flying slopesoaring places listed with pictures, and maps and directions on this website.

The local hobby shop - I mean the main LHS that does most model airplanes in Ireland is Green Hobby & Model, Harolds Cross, Dublin and they are flyers themselves there so they know what matters. You should really call into them and have a chat first, they would tell you what is suitable for flying in ireland ... it's very windy here for example .... and our choices of suitable models reflects that.
They keep a book of flying places on the counter in that shop with contacts in the clubs all over the country. You will surely find a place to fly nearby.

There is also some information about flying model planes in Ireland on my own webpages here Norm_Flyer . Mainly about slope soaring off the coast and mountain slopes, but my website is also the planes I fly from club fields too. So that might be a help.

Hope you find this helpful.