Hi Phil,
Yes you are very close to Dublin airport but alas there are no longer flight schools running from there.
Weston is your best bet and there are a few threads over on boards.ie about the various schools out there and reviews of each.
I myself flew with Flightwise and DublinPilot (who will be along shortly I imagine) went Skytrace , and neither of us have had an issue. The are both excellent schools with great instructors and I have rarely heard a bad word spoken of each outfit.
I did do a few hours with NFC at the start to help choose a school , and you seem to have very good skills at deduction.
If you have any questions at all then please post here and one of us will help you.
oh and NFC do have a sim , as do flightwise (pc based flight yoke).
Hope this helps ,
Fionn