diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index b5c4695bb..d335285d5 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ stages:
   - deploy
 
 variables:
-  IRRLICHT_TAG: "1.9.0mt1"
+  IRRLICHT_TAG: "1.9.0mt2"
   MINETEST_GAME_REPO: "https://github.com/minetest/minetest_game.git"
   CONTAINER_IMAGE: registry.gitlab.com/$CI_PROJECT_PATH
 
@@ -19,14 +19,10 @@ variables:
    - apt-get update
    - apt-get -y install build-essential git cmake libpng-dev libjpeg-dev libxxf86vm-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libsqlite3-dev libleveldb-dev libogg-dev libvorbis-dev libopenal-dev libcurl4-gnutls-dev libfreetype6-dev zlib1g-dev libgmp-dev libjsoncpp-dev
   script:
-    - git clone https://github.com/minetest/irrlicht -b $IRRLICHT_TAG
-    - cd irrlicht
-    - cmake . -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF
-    - make -j2
-    - cd ..
+    - git clone https://github.com/minetest/irrlicht -b $IRRLICHT_TAG lib/irrlichtmt
     - mkdir cmakebuild
     - cd cmakebuild
-    - cmake -DIRRLICHT_LIBRARY=$PWD/../irrlicht/lib/Linux/libIrrlichtMt.a -DIRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR=$PWD/../irrlicht/include -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=../artifact/minetest/usr/ -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DRUN_IN_PLACE=FALSE -DENABLE_GETTEXT=TRUE -DBUILD_SERVER=TRUE ..
+    - cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=../artifact/minetest/usr/ -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DRUN_IN_PLACE=FALSE -DENABLE_GETTEXT=TRUE -DBUILD_SERVER=TRUE ..
     - make -j2
     - make install
   artifacts:
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 42b343540..fe508ffdb 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -68,34 +68,25 @@ if(EXISTS "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/lib/irrlichtmt")
 	if(NOT TARGET IrrlichtMt)
 		message(FATAL_ERROR "IrrlichtMt project is missing a CMake target?!")
 	endif()
-
-	# set include dir the way it would normally be
-	set(IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/lib/irrlichtmt/include")
-	set(IRRLICHT_LIBRARY IrrlichtMt)
 else()
-	find_package(Irrlicht)
-	if(BUILD_CLIENT AND NOT IRRLICHT_FOUND)
-		message(FATAL_ERROR "IrrlichtMt is required to build the client, but it was not found.")
-	elseif(NOT IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR)
-		message(FATAL_ERROR "Irrlicht or IrrlichtMt headers are required to build the server, but none found.")
-	endif()
-endif()
+	find_package(IrrlichtMt QUIET)
+	if(NOT TARGET IrrlichtMt::IrrlichtMt)
+		string(CONCAT explanation_msg
+			"The Minetest team has forked Irrlicht to make their own customizations. "
+			"It can be found here: https://github.com/minetest/irrlicht")
+		if(BUILD_CLIENT)
+			message(FATAL_ERROR "IrrlichtMt is required to build the client, but it was not found.\n${explanation_msg}")
+		endif()
 
-include(CheckSymbolExists)
-set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_INCLUDES ${IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR})
-unset(HAS_FORKED_IRRLICHT CACHE)
-check_symbol_exists(IRRLICHT_VERSION_MT "IrrCompileConfig.h" HAS_FORKED_IRRLICHT)
-if(NOT HAS_FORKED_IRRLICHT)
-	string(CONCAT EXPLANATION_MSG
-		"Irrlicht found, but it is not IrrlichtMt (Minetest's Irrlicht fork). "
-		"The Minetest team has forked Irrlicht to make their own customizations. "
-		"It can be found here: https://github.com/minetest/irrlicht")
-	if(BUILD_CLIENT)
-		message(FATAL_ERROR "${EXPLANATION_MSG}\n"
-			"Building the client with upstream Irrlicht is no longer possible.")
+		include(MinetestFindIrrlichtHeaders)
+		if(NOT IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR)
+			message(FATAL_ERROR "Irrlicht or IrrlichtMt headers are required to build the server, but none found.\n${explanation_msg}")
+		endif()
+		message(STATUS "Found Irrlicht headers: ${IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR}")
+		add_library(IrrlichtMt::IrrlichtMt INTERFACE IMPORTED)
+		target_include_directories(IrrlichtMt::IrrlichtMt INTERFACE "${IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR}")
 	else()
-		message(WARNING "${EXPLANATION_MSG}\n"
-			"The server can still be built with upstream Irrlicht but this is DISCOURAGED.")
+		message(STATUS "Found IrrlichtMt ${IrrlichtMt_VERSION}")
 	endif()
 endif()
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0cd134f27..1774d1ea3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -223,6 +223,9 @@ Run it:
   - Debug build is slower, but gives much more useful output in a debugger.
 - If you build a bare server you don't need to have the Irrlicht or IrrlichtMt library installed.
   - In that case use `-DIRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR=/some/where/irrlicht/include`.
+- IrrlichtMt can also be installed somewhere that is not a standard install path.
+  - In that case use `-DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/path/to/install_prefix`
+  - The path must be set so that `$(CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH)/lib/cmake/IrrlichtMt` exists.
 
 ### CMake options
 
diff --git a/cmake/Modules/FindIrrlicht.cmake b/cmake/Modules/FindIrrlicht.cmake
deleted file mode 100644
index 1e334652b..000000000
--- a/cmake/Modules/FindIrrlicht.cmake
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-
-mark_as_advanced(IRRLICHT_DLL)
-
-# Find include directory and libraries
-
-# find our fork first, then upstream (TODO: remove this?)
-foreach(libname IN ITEMS IrrlichtMt Irrlicht)
-	string(TOLOWER "${libname}" libname2)
-
-	find_path(IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR NAMES irrlicht.h
-		DOC "Path to the directory with IrrlichtMt includes"
-		PATHS
-		/usr/local/include/${libname2}
-		/usr/include/${libname2}
-		/system/develop/headers/${libname2} #Haiku
-		PATH_SUFFIXES "include/${libname2}"
-	)
-
-	find_library(IRRLICHT_LIBRARY NAMES lib${libname} ${libname}
-		DOC "Path to the IrrlichtMt library file"
-		PATHS
-		/usr/local/lib
-		/usr/lib
-		/system/develop/lib # Haiku
-	)
-
-	if(IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR OR IRRLICHT_LIBRARY)
-		break()
-	endif()
-endforeach()
-
-# Handholding for users
-if(IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR AND (NOT IS_DIRECTORY "${IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR}" OR
-	NOT EXISTS "${IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR}/irrlicht.h"))
-	message(WARNING "IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR was set to ${IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR} "
-		"but irrlicht.h does not exist inside. The path will not be used.")
-	unset(IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR CACHE)
-endif()
-if(WIN32 OR CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME STREQUAL "Linux" OR APPLE)
-	# (only on systems where we're sure how a valid library looks like)
-	if(IRRLICHT_LIBRARY AND (NOT EXISTS "${IRRLICHT_LIBRARY}" OR
-		NOT IRRLICHT_LIBRARY MATCHES "\\.(a|so|dylib|lib)([.0-9]+)?$"))
-		message(WARNING "IRRLICHT_LIBRARY was set to ${IRRLICHT_LIBRARY} "
-			"but is not a valid library file. The path will not be used.")
-		unset(IRRLICHT_LIBRARY CACHE)
-	endif()
-endif()
-
-# On Windows, find the DLL for installation
-if(WIN32)
-	# If VCPKG_APPLOCAL_DEPS is ON, dll's are automatically handled by VCPKG
-	if(NOT VCPKG_APPLOCAL_DEPS)
-		find_file(IRRLICHT_DLL NAMES IrrlichtMt.dll
-			DOC "Path of the IrrlichtMt dll (for installation)"
-		)
-	endif()
-endif(WIN32)
-
-include(FindPackageHandleStandardArgs)
-find_package_handle_standard_args(Irrlicht DEFAULT_MSG IRRLICHT_LIBRARY IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR)
-
diff --git a/cmake/Modules/MinetestFindIrrlichtHeaders.cmake b/cmake/Modules/MinetestFindIrrlichtHeaders.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d33b296d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmake/Modules/MinetestFindIrrlichtHeaders.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# Locate Irrlicht or IrrlichtMt headers on system.
+
+foreach(libname IN ITEMS IrrlichtMt Irrlicht)
+	string(TOLOWER "${libname}" libname2)
+
+	find_path(IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR NAMES irrlicht.h
+		DOC "Path to the directory with IrrlichtMt includes"
+		PATHS
+		/usr/local/include/${libname2}
+		/usr/include/${libname2}
+		/system/develop/headers/${libname2} #Haiku
+		PATH_SUFFIXES "include/${libname2}"
+	)
+
+	if(IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR)
+		break()
+	endif()
+endforeach()
+
+# Handholding for users
+if(IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR AND (NOT IS_DIRECTORY "${IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR}" OR
+	NOT EXISTS "${IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR}/irrlicht.h"))
+	message(WARNING "IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR was set to ${IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR} "
+		"but irrlicht.h does not exist inside. The path will not be used.")
+	unset(IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR CACHE)
+endif()
diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index ac460883a..7a5e48b49 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -293,33 +293,7 @@ else()
 		if(NOT HAIKU AND NOT APPLE)
 			find_package(X11 REQUIRED)
 		endif(NOT HAIKU AND NOT APPLE)
-
-		##
-		# The following dependencies are transitive dependencies from Irrlicht.
-		# Minetest itself does not use them, but we link them so that statically
-		# linking Irrlicht works.
-		if(NOT HAIKU AND NOT APPLE)
-			# This way Xxf86vm is found on OpenBSD too
-			find_library(XXF86VM_LIBRARY Xxf86vm)
-			mark_as_advanced(XXF86VM_LIBRARY)
-			set(CLIENT_PLATFORM_LIBS ${CLIENT_PLATFORM_LIBS} ${XXF86VM_LIBRARY})
-		endif(NOT HAIKU AND NOT APPLE)
-
-		find_package(JPEG REQUIRED)
-		find_package(PNG REQUIRED)
-		if(APPLE)
-			find_library(CARBON_LIB Carbon REQUIRED)
-			find_library(COCOA_LIB Cocoa REQUIRED)
-			find_library(IOKIT_LIB IOKit REQUIRED)
-			mark_as_advanced(
-				CARBON_LIB
-				COCOA_LIB
-				IOKIT_LIB
-			)
-			SET(CLIENT_PLATFORM_LIBS ${CLIENT_PLATFORM_LIBS} ${CARBON_LIB} ${COCOA_LIB} ${IOKIT_LIB})
-		endif(APPLE)
-		##
-	endif(BUILD_CLIENT)
+	endif()
 
 	find_package(ZLIB REQUIRED)
 	set(PLATFORM_LIBS -lpthread ${CMAKE_DL_LIBS})
@@ -511,9 +485,7 @@ endif()
 include_directories(
 	${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}
 	${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}
-	${IRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR}
 	${ZLIB_INCLUDE_DIR}
-	${PNG_INCLUDE_DIR}
 	${SOUND_INCLUDE_DIRS}
 	${SQLITE3_INCLUDE_DIR}
 	${LUA_INCLUDE_DIR}
@@ -548,10 +520,7 @@ if(BUILD_CLIENT)
 	target_link_libraries(
 		${PROJECT_NAME}
 		${ZLIB_LIBRARIES}
-		${IRRLICHT_LIBRARY}
-		${JPEG_LIBRARIES}
-		${BZIP2_LIBRARIES}
-		${PNG_LIBRARIES}
+		IrrlichtMt::IrrlichtMt
 		${X11_LIBRARIES}
 		${SOUND_LIBRARIES}
 		${SQLITE3_LIBRARY}
@@ -559,7 +528,6 @@ if(BUILD_CLIENT)
 		${GMP_LIBRARY}
 		${JSON_LIBRARY}
 		${PLATFORM_LIBS}
-		${CLIENT_PLATFORM_LIBS}
 	)
 	if(NOT USE_LUAJIT)
 		set_target_properties(${PROJECT_NAME} PROPERTIES
@@ -629,6 +597,11 @@ endif(BUILD_CLIENT)
 if(BUILD_SERVER)
 	add_executable(${PROJECT_NAME}server ${server_SRCS} ${extra_windows_SRCS})
 	add_dependencies(${PROJECT_NAME}server GenerateVersion)
+
+	get_target_property(
+		IRRLICHT_INCLUDES IrrlichtMt::IrrlichtMt INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES)
+	# Doesn't work without PRIVATE/PUBLIC/INTERFACE mode specified.
+	target_include_directories(${PROJECT_NAME}server PRIVATE ${IRRLICHT_INCLUDES})
 	target_link_libraries(
 		${PROJECT_NAME}server
 		${ZLIB_LIBRARIES}
diff --git a/util/buildbot/buildwin32.sh b/util/buildbot/buildwin32.sh
index 468df05a9..40c205250 100755
--- a/util/buildbot/buildwin32.sh
+++ b/util/buildbot/buildwin32.sh
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ if [ -z "$toolchain_file" ]; then
 fi
 echo "Using $toolchain_file"
 
-irrlicht_version=1.9.0mt1
+irrlicht_version=1.9.0mt2
 ogg_version=1.3.4
 vorbis_version=1.3.7
 curl_version=7.76.1
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ cd $builddir
 mkdir build
 cd build
 
-irr_dlls=$(echo $libdir/irrlicht/bin/*.dll | tr ' ' ';')
+irr_dlls=$(echo $libdir/irrlicht/lib/*.dll | tr ' ' ';')
 vorbis_dlls=$(echo $libdir/libvorbis/bin/libvorbis{,file}-*.dll | tr ' ' ';')
 gettext_dlls=$(echo $libdir/gettext/bin/lib{intl,iconv}-*.dll | tr ' ' ';')
 
@@ -113,9 +113,7 @@ cmake -S $sourcedir -B . \
 	-DENABLE_FREETYPE=1 \
 	-DENABLE_LEVELDB=1 \
 	\
-	-DIRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR=$libdir/irrlicht/include/irrlichtmt \
-	-DIRRLICHT_LIBRARY=$libdir/irrlicht/lib/libIrrlichtMt.dll.a \
-	-DIRRLICHT_DLL="$irr_dlls" \
+	-DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=$libdir/irrlicht \
 	\
 	-DZLIB_INCLUDE_DIR=$libdir/zlib/include \
 	-DZLIB_LIBRARIES=$libdir/zlib/lib/libz.dll.a \
diff --git a/util/buildbot/buildwin64.sh b/util/buildbot/buildwin64.sh
index 3b5d61c96..6d3deceae 100755
--- a/util/buildbot/buildwin64.sh
+++ b/util/buildbot/buildwin64.sh
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ if [ -z "$toolchain_file" ]; then
 fi
 echo "Using $toolchain_file"
 
-irrlicht_version=1.9.0mt1
+irrlicht_version=1.9.0mt2
 ogg_version=1.3.4
 vorbis_version=1.3.7
 curl_version=7.76.1
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ cd $builddir
 mkdir build
 cd build
 
-irr_dlls=$(echo $libdir/irrlicht/bin/*.dll | tr ' ' ';')
+irr_dlls=$(echo $libdir/irrlicht/lib/*.dll | tr ' ' ';')
 vorbis_dlls=$(echo $libdir/libvorbis/bin/libvorbis{,file}-*.dll | tr ' ' ';')
 gettext_dlls=$(echo $libdir/gettext/bin/lib{intl,iconv}-*.dll | tr ' ' ';')
 
@@ -113,9 +113,7 @@ cmake -S $sourcedir -B . \
 	-DENABLE_FREETYPE=1 \
 	-DENABLE_LEVELDB=1 \
 	\
-	-DIRRLICHT_INCLUDE_DIR=$libdir/irrlicht/include/irrlichtmt \
-	-DIRRLICHT_LIBRARY=$libdir/irrlicht/lib/libIrrlichtMt.dll.a \
-	-DIRRLICHT_DLL="$irr_dlls" \
+	-DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=$libdir/irrlicht \
 	\
 	-DZLIB_INCLUDE_DIR=$libdir/zlib/include \
 	-DZLIB_LIBRARIES=$libdir/zlib/lib/libz.dll.a \
diff --git a/util/ci/common.sh b/util/ci/common.sh
index 6a28482fd..70a1bedaf 100644
--- a/util/ci/common.sh
+++ b/util/ci/common.sh
@@ -11,9 +11,7 @@ install_linux_deps() {
 		shift
 		pkgs+=(libirrlicht-dev)
 	else
-		# TODO: return old URL when IrrlichtMt 1.9.0mt2 is tagged
-		#wget "https://github.com/minetest/irrlicht/releases/download/1.9.0mt1/ubuntu-bionic.tar.gz"
-		wget "http://minetest.kitsunemimi.pw/irrlichtmt-patched-temporary.tgz" -O ubuntu-bionic.tar.gz
+		wget "https://github.com/minetest/irrlicht/releases/download/1.9.0mt2/ubuntu-bionic.tar.gz"
 		sudo tar -xaf ubuntu-bionic.tar.gz -C /usr/local
 	fi