Well, this headline caught my eye, and I hope it catches yours, too! It’s the headline of a short article in The Atlantic concerning word usage. You might be surprised at the conversation the author had with the Editor at Large at the OED — I know I was.
And yes, irregardless IS a real word, but not one we should be using. Why? Because it’s a double negative, and English doesn’t allow those. And using it likely will set off alarm bells in anyone who is listening to us or reading what we’ve written.
Is that fair? I don’t know. I do know that it’s simpler to just not use the word.