I am using LibreELEC with a Pi and a LIRCv2 USB-Dongle. In my understanding for LibreELEC/Kodi is LIRC just a keyboard - not more.
But in the current release notes of the new LibreELEC release I read the notes about a "Lirc service". What is it and why do I need a special software/service for Lirc now? IMO it is one of the advantages of Lirc that I don't need special software - just a generic keyboard driver.