diff --git a/lib/logstash/inputs/irc.rb b/lib/logstash/inputs/irc.rb
index 2c478dc0b..6b7e96605 100644
--- a/lib/logstash/inputs/irc.rb
+++ b/lib/logstash/inputs/irc.rb
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ class LogStash::Inputs::Irc < LogStash::Inputs::Base
   config :host, :validate => :string, :required => true
 
   # Port for the IRC Server
-  config :port, :validate => :number, :required => true
+  config :port, :validate => :number, :default => 6667
 
   # Set this to true to enable SSL.
   config :secure, :validate => :boolean, :default => false
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ class LogStash::Inputs::Irc < LogStash::Inputs::Base
       msg = @irc_queue.pop
       if msg.user
         @codec.decode(msg.message) do |event|
-          event["channel"] = msg.channel
+          event["channel"] = msg.channel.to_s
           event["nick"] = msg.user.nick
           event["server"] = "#{@host}:#{@port}"
           output_queue << event