Actually, you can run more than one connection with Net::IRC. Here is a minimal demonstration script:

#!/usr/bin/perl

use Net::IRC;
use strict;

my $server = "myserver";

my $irc = new Net::IRC;
my $conn1 = $irc->newconn(Nick    => "test1",
                          Server  => $server,
                          Port    => 6667);

my $conn2 = $irc->newconn(Nick    => "test2",
                          Server  => $server,
                          Port    => 6667);

$conn1->add_global_handler('msg', \&on_msg);
$conn2->add_global_handler('msg', \&on_msg);

$irc->start;

sub on_msg {
    my ($self, $event) = @_;
    my $who = $event->nick;

    $self->privmsg($who, "hello, $who!!");
}
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Send a message to either of the bots, and they'll reply. You can also add different handlers for each connection, and it'll do the right thing.

However, I don't know if this gets you a win or a lose as to open file handles overall...

Alan