Q: Can we use emoticons in IRC chat?

A: Yes, you can use emoticons here on IRC Chat.
If you use IRC however, you will not see the images. Only people using the Java chat will see them as images.
You can find the list of emoticons at: https://www.susans.org/chat/emoticons.html

To use emoticon, and you want to wish Susan a very happy birthday, you would type:

/me wishes Susan a very [birthday]

The Java users will see:
<YourNick> wishes Susan a very

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