mizemm

Depends on the type of irony.

Simple or literary irony is the use of words to connote a meaning different from, and typically opposed to, their literal meaning.

Not quite sure how to best define situational or dramatic irony.

I think people get 'irony' and 'coincidence' mixed up a lot. Certainly Morisette did in the writing of her song.

'We're getting married today, but shucks; it started raining!' = coincidence.
'We're getting married today, but hubby got run over on the way to the chapel!' = still ironic. Sadder, more dramatic, but still ironic.

It's hard to think of an example of irony that can't be passed off as mere coincidence; the usage of the word these days certainly makes it harder, as people downgrade irony to a concept that might be applied to flavors of chewing gum.

If you haven't done so already, watch the movie 'The Departed.' In it, 2 different characters act as spies - a cop goes undercover as a mobster, and a mobster becomes a cop to better hide his family's business. The question pertinent to irony is this: In trying to convince everyone that he's a 'good cop,' does the undercover mobster do more good than evil? Similarly, does the undercover cop defeat the purposes of 'protect and serve' when he has to commit actual crimes to prove his loyalty to the mob?

I'm not even sure that this is a great example of irony, but it's closer than the common usage.

oops - the second wedding example should be 'still not ironic. Sadder, more dramatic, but still coincidence.'

See how hard it is to keep straight?

Something with iron in it?