I am making an IRC plugin, it first started as a private project, for 1 server, but I am thinking about releasing it to the public. Would anyone be interested? Anyone? Really. EDIT by Moderator: merged posts, please use the edit button instead of double posting.
What's the difference between yours irc plugin, MonsterIRC and CraftIRC? Does it work with HeroChat 5
Try releasing your plugin on the 'plugin releases' forum, be sure to explain why your plugin is better than all the others and why everyone should use yours. As well consider chat formatting plugins like mChat and HeroChat (ChannelChat even?) so you have a slight edge. And make sure that your plugin follows the bot Terms of Service on possible IRC networks (like EsperNet).
Even if you're not going to maintain it, why not? If someone wanted to pick it up and develop it further, it would be a different starting point than other IRC plugins, and evidently it has some advantage over other plugins, else you likely wouldn't have developed it. Basically I would encourage the sharing of anything and everything. Question: does a single bot connect to IRC and relay all the Minecraft messages, or is there one connection per Minecraft player?