Try reading beyond the title?

or even reading the title, as typically "___ is dead, long live ___" doesnt mean the ___ is dead

Well, it _does_. The second part is implied to refer to a different incarnation of it. Eg the original use "Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!" ("The king is dead, long live the king") refers to the previous king dying and a new one ascending the throne.

As such, I believe the second part of the title refers to an adapting ("new") form of IRC. As mentioned in the article, projects to add video chat support and the likes. The old IRC is dead (well, dying at least by the looks of it), a new adapted version is the future. [According to the article]

Ah, thank you! I came into the comments to ask what "X is dead, long live the X" means, but you've saved me some time :)