The irony of the neighbors
Ironically, some of Jean's kidnappers were her neighbors, and her ten children were able to identify them. The IRA spread the propaganda that anybody liaising with the British should be killed and eliminated from society. When the word spread that Jean is a British informer, some of the neighbors wanted her out of the community by all means, and they participated in her kidnappings. Ironically, no single neighbor took the ten kids' interest because they are left to take care of themselves. Michael realizes that some of the people kidnapping her mother are well known to him. The author writes, "Michael realized, to his horror, that the people taking his mother away were not strangers. They were his neighbors."
The iron of the gang
The twelve gang men and women who go to kidnap Jean are sarcastic and deceitful. They realize that children are traumatized. Knowing very well that they will kill Jean, they ironically give the children hope that their mother would be back soonest possible. The author writes, "The gang tried to calm the children, saying that they would bring Jean back – they just needed to talk to her; she would be gone only for only a few hours." The gang knows very well that these children need their mother, but they kidnap her and later kill her.
The irony of Divis Flats
After the death of Arthur, Jean and her children relocated to a slightly bigger house. Jean is left with a meager pension to sustain her with her children. She has no job or any other income-generating activity. The reader finds it satirical that Jean decides to relocate to a bigger house, which will strain her even more. The author writes, "The family had recently moved out of the apartment where Arthur spent his final days and into a slightly larger dwelling in Divis Flats."
The iron of the Irish government
Ironically, the Irish government is behind the atrocities that are committed in the country by IRA. The reader expects that the role of the government is to protect its people. IRA is an agency of the government which is tasked with the responsibility of flashing out the British soldiers. Unfortunately, the IRA has turned into a criminal gang that terrorizes the citizens. Jean is a victim of the government of Ireland's atrocities because she is killed and leaves behind ten orphans.
The irony of the people of Ireland
Governments are elected by the people, implying that power is bestowed upon them. Remaining silent when the government is mistreating its people is a dramatic satire in this story. IRA has transformed into a powerful government agency that eliminates any person suspected to be an informer of the British soldiers. Unfortunately, people fear the IRA because the residents of Divis Flats remain indoors when one of their own is brutally kidnapped.
