I could post the definition of irony here but I'll likely get down-voted to hell and back for "snark" or some such, but I'm pretty sure this situation being ironic and/or as a way to "learn from your mistakes" is not mutually exclusive.
I guess it depends on where you find the irony... I think I have a pretty good understanding of what irony is, so maybe you can just explain where you see it in the situation you describe?