Can you give us the exact product name, as well as the exact error message??
We really need those to have a chance at helping you. Plus, is it the IRC daemon, or the old MSN IRC Client? Both, honestly, should be punted due to their many security holes and lack of standards compliance... but if you're determined to make them run, we can still give it a crack.
I should mention that MSN and Open Source usually aren't mentioned together, so you may wish to verify your source...