Haigh a chairde ; I'll keep this brief with a question and an example ; after studying Gaelige for 5 years I havent come across that much usage of it except in sean-nós songs and tests ! I wonder how much it's actually used as it's quite hard to put into practice without figuring out which singular, plural, + 1st, 2nd, 3rd person tense to use x the verb type one or two syllables and a caol or leathan verb. I mean I know them all but just couldnt use them in real life really.

Can you just substitute something simpler to remove the need to use the Modh Coinníollach like below ? - and please correct if any of it is wrong.

An gcuirfeá na bronntanais faoin gcrann Nollag, le do thoil ? Could you please put the presents under the Christmas Tree ?

Replace An gcuirfeá with An feidir leat as follows:

An feidir leat ag cur na bronntanais faoin gcrann Nollag, le do thoil ?

By the way Christmas isnt that far away now

It’s constantly used in everyday speech. Any time you’d ask something in English like “would you like a cup of coffee”, or “I’d do my homework if it was easier”, that’s the equivalent of the Irish conditional mood.

In some situations you could make use of alternatives like you suggest, in others you can’t. Even where you can, it changes the semantics of the sentence, and it will be very clear to teachers and examiners that you are doing so to avoid using the conditional mood, for example if they ask you a question that required the modh and you deliberately answer without using it

Bottom line you should just learn the conditional mood and become comfortable using it.

An féidir leat na bronntanais a chur faoin gcrann Nollag?
There is never "ag" following copula modal constructions.

An féidir leat? is "can?" in the sense of having the ability and only in this sense.
Can you put ...? No, I can’t. Ní féidir. There's no place beneath this tiny tree.

An gcuirfeá? hasn’t this meaning. It is just a polite request.

Well, that is like trying to speak English without the words "could", "would" and "should".

Thank you for all of your advice djwebb2021, Labhrás, and Ade !

I think I have a better understanding now and why you can't substitute it with a non conditional form.

Just wondering of any good online or offline resources you would recommend for examples of the use of the Modh Coinníollach in conversational Irish ?

grma.

Just listen to programmes on Radio na Gaeltachta. They are free to listen to online:
https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/

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The dialect I use is Cork Irish.
Ar sgáth a chéile a mhairid na daoine, lag agus láidir, uasal is íseal