The supplied IRC program is called XChat. Although XChat may not be the easiest IRC client to use, it is by far the most flexible and the most comprehensive. (and probably the best looking)

• Step 1 - log in to your user account

• Step 2 - navigate to Applications -> Internet ->  XChat
  
• Step 3 - you should be presented with a screen listing a number of nicknames and a list of available servers
  Hopefully you chose your login id wisely, in which scroll down and highlight Freenode and click Connect.
  (you may want to select an alternative set of nicknames, make sure you enter something for all the alternatives as these are used if the nickname you prefer is already in use on the server)
  
• Step 4 - be patient, it could take a little while to log on fully
  When you're in , you should have been presented with a page (or two) of text ending with;
  End of /MOTD command.
  
• Step 5 - if you see the text This nickname is owned by someone else, restart and pick an alternative nickname, indeed repeat until you find one that's free
  
• Step 6 - once you're in with a unique nickname, you can own the nickname you've selected
  
• Step 7 - type; /msg NickServ REGISTER <password>  (where <password> is a password of your choice
  
• Step 8 - assuming the response from the server is favourable, you can log in at any time with;
  /msg NickServ IDENTIFY <password>
  
• Step 9 - next, try a little customisation, select Settings -> Preferences from the menu
  
• Step 10 - tick Transparent background
  
• Step 11 - tick Tint
  
• Step 12 - tick Show marker line
  
• Step 13 - tick Enable Timestamps
  
• Step 14 - tick Colored nick names
  
• Step 15 - change the Tint with the sliders, I favour a setting of 40 for each slider
  
• Step 16 - click Ok to close the window
  
• Step 17 - now try joining a group, at the prompt at the bottom of the screen, enter;
  /join #linux.co.uk
  /join #flashlinux
• Step 18 - hopefully at this point, you're off. When you type at the prompt, your text appears in the window above and everyone can see what you type. When someone else types, you and everyone else will see it. A list of users is shown down the right of the screen, a list of open channels across the bottom in tabs.
  
• Step 19 - typing "/" before your text indicates you're typing a command to the server as opposed to text for everyone to see. Try typing /HELP
  
• Step 20 - typing /me <text> presents the text in a different way, try it .. :)
  
• Step 21 - one other useful setting. Navigate to Settings -> Preferences -> User List, and click User List buttons enabled.
  Then press Ok to close the window.
  
• Step 22 - now select the nick name of another user from the list of users and click dialog. This will open a private chat session with one specific user.