Tragedy versus Comedy

For much of the beginning of the play, I was under the impression that it was a comedy. Or at least not a tragedy. There were scenes that were funny, characters that were meant to bring comic relief, lines that were supposed to make the audience/reader laugh. I love Hugh and Jimmy's conversations and the way they interact with the other characters, they just seem happy in their situation, or at least oblivious to their potential troubles. Owen and Yolland's scene where they figure out the mispronunciation of Owen's name is very lighthearted. Then the romance begins with Yolland and Maire, and you think, ahh this is going to have a happy ending. Love is in the air. It makes you want to buy a plane ticket to Ireland...or at least watch P.S. I Love You...and then it ends. And you are like WHAT?! I mean the army is threatening to burn the village, Manus runs away, Maire and Sarah are both heartbroken, and Owen is stuck in the middle between the new and old. And all of a sudden you realize, this play isn't a comedy, its a satire! CRAP! How are you supposed to get those warm fuzzies? But the more you think about it, the way it ended, with ambiguity and openness to interpretation, means that the audience can create their own ending in their heads. And suddenly, you realize that if it had ended with a happy ending, you would have thought it a cop-out...