It's a slight hyperbole to say that everything about this murder and the police trying to solve it is ironic; however, the story does contain multiple types of irony throughout it.
Situational irony is displayed in Mary killing her husband in the first place. It is completely unexpected. We are introduced to Mary being the quintessential doting housewife. She is patiently waiting for Patrick to get home. Once he does, she lives to serve his every need, and she does it while placing drinks in his hand. We are told that she loves to "luxuriate" in his very presence. It's incredible to see that within 20 minutes Mary is caving his head in with a leg of lamb, figuring out an alibi, and figuring out how to dispose of the murder weapon.
Verbal irony is displayed when Mary asks the investigating officers for a "small favor." She would like them to stay for dinner and eat the lamb. There is nothing small about her request. It is seemingly innocent and quite generous, but having the officers dispose of the murder weapon is a huge favor.
Finally, the story shows great dramatic irony at the very end of the story. The officers are discussing where the murder weapon could be, and the one officer states that it is probably very nearby. He jokingly states that the weapon is probably right under their noses. It's dramatic irony because the reader knows that the murder weapon is quite literally under their noses.
“Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises.”
“Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?”
The real irony of this murder mystery is that the police actually end up eating the murder weapon. Remember that after receiving bad news from her husband, Mrs. Maloney murders her husband by hitting him over the head with a frozen leg of lamb that she had intended to cook for his evening meal.
Later, when the police arrive, Mrs. Maloney cooks the leg of lamb. She tells the police that she wants them to eat it because it seems a shame to let the meat go to waste. What she is really doing, however, is disposing of the evidence of her crime.
This irony is most evident in the final lines of the story. One of the police officers says,
Probably right under our very noses. What do you think, Jack?
Ironically, it really is under his nose because he is eating it.
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