tsuwm mentioned the possibility of someone's asking for the definition of irony on another thread. (I'd mentioned that I value an ironic sense of humor.)

There have been volumes written about irony, and the subject is redolent with human fun, foibles and even tragedy.

I thought it might be interesting to enumerate here examples of different types of irony, variously categorized according to your references. I think it was ironic that Einstein with his own brand of genuis is purported to have been escorted to classes by students because he wouldn't find the way. (This is an example of irony's ability to admire with veiled light criticism.)

Irony can take even grim turns and still maintain an element of humor. Here are two examples from the web:

"A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen, shaking frantically with what looked like a wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she whacked him with a handy plank of wood by the back door, breaking his arm in two places. Till that moment he had been happily listening to his Walkman."

"The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was $80,000. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later they were both eaten by a killer whale."

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/irony.html

Literature is rife with examples of irony, both humorous and tragic. Dramatic irony throughout "Oedipus Rex" comes immediately to mind.

Beethoven's life of genuis and brilliance in music took the ironically tragic turn when he became deaf, though continuing his composition.

It's a certain kind of irony (I'll have to look up the exact term) that Beverly Sills' daughter is deaf.

So, sometimes poignant, sometimes tragic, often humorous, what are some, if any, examples of irony playing out its hand you've observed in either life or the arts?

I hope someone else has a few examples.

Best regards,
WW