IRC was originally written by Jarkko Oikarinen in 1988. Since starting in Finland, it has been used in over 60 countries around the world. IRC is constantly evolving, so the way things work one week may not be the way they work the next. IRC had similar uses during the coup against Boris Yeltsin in September 1993, where IRC users from Moscow were giving live reports about the unstable situation there. First you have to have an IRC Client.
Some providers provide a client with the service.
Ask them first. If not, you will have to download one.