We are here to discuss her new book, Chernobyl Heart . . .

Twenty Years On, which chronicles the history and tells many of the stories of the people affected by the disastrous explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in 1986.

"I wrote the book initially because of the 20th anniversary and that in itself was a definite focus and a goal but I was actually bursting and bubbling over with stories that I almost wanted to vomit out. I had stories about people, about science . . . a whole range of stuff and I just had to get it all out. One day while I was on holiday in Kerry, it was a beautiful day and I was lying on the bed with the laptop out, I just sat up and wrote the word 'Chernobyl' and that was how I started."

Adi Roche is a remarkable woman; a former Aer Lingus stewardess, she left the state airline in the late 1980s in order to work full-time for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). The Irish branch of CND successfully fought off a proposed nuclear power station in Carnsore Point in Co Wexford and in 1990 she became the first Irish woman to be appointed to the board of the International Peace Bureau in Geneva.

Her work has made her a household name and she has never let an opportunity to promote her cause slip her by . . . including an ill-fated bid for the Irish presidency in 1997. The day after she lost to Mary McAleese, she was back on the road to Chernobyl. Newspaper reports on the day describe a woman who had put failure behind her and was concentrating on the task in hand. This is how Roche spends her life . . . constantly moving between Cork, Chernobyl and various other cities as part of her ongoing campaign. Halfway through the interview, she reveals that she lost her mother three weeks previously and admits that within days of her passing she was en route to Chernobyl.

"That is what she would have wanted, I know that otherwise I would never have gone, " she says. "She was as involved in the work as I am so she would have wanted me to carry on."

It's hard to imagine anyone in Roche's life not being involved in her work because it seems to be all-encompassing. She speaks with such passion and emotion, Chernobyl seems to be a kind of lifeline for her. The beginnings are well-documented; it all started in 1991 when a group of Belarusian doctors faxed the Cork CND office with the plea, "SOS appeal.

For god's sake, help us to get the children out". Roche had been working as a volunteer for a number of years and was heavily involved in the Irish anti-nuclear power movement. Within weeks, she had organised a visit to Belarus and from that day on it has been her life's work. With Roche at the helm, the Chernobyl Children's Project International has initiated 16 aid programmes and delivered direct and indirect medical and humanitarian aid valued at over $60m to the areas most affected by the nuclear disaster.

Like most people, she looks different in person than she does in photographs. There is no doubt she is more physically attractive. Her hair is subtly 'sun-kissed' and her make-up looks as though it was professionally applied that morning.

She is wearing a long, well-tailored skirt and high-heeled boots and the features that usually appear thin in photographs are softened by being perpetually in motion. Her eyes widen and narrow for emphasis and combined with the gush of chatter, the effect is almost girlish.

But a girl, she is not. She recently turned 50 and the heart of diamonds which she wears around her neck was a gift from Ali Hewson, patron of the Chernobyl Children's Project.

Hewson, who is wife to U2's Bono, has played an important role in the work of the foundation over the years, capitalising on her rock star connections to raise funds and open doors.

Roche and Hewson will lead the convoy of trucks carrying necessary supplies and medicines that are scheduled to travel from Ireland to Chernobyl next month.

Chernobyl Heart . . . Twenty Years On is not pleasant reading.

The stories are tragic and the portraits are harrowing and although there are some happy endings the book is a clear reminder that the Chernobyl nuclear disaster should not be consigned to history.

"The main purpose of this book was to remind people about Chernobyl because they have started to forget, there is no doubt about that. It has been put in the back of their minds because people think that disasters have a beginning, middle and an end. This is not the case with Chernobyl . . . there was a beginning but there will be no end because it goes on to infinity. I wanted to write something that was going to be challenging and tell the stories that haven't yet been told and most importantly, give a voice to people that have been disenfranchised and abandoned by the rest of the world."

One element of the book that stands out in particular is Roche's account of the 'liquidators' . . . the men who were conscripted by the Belarusian authorities to work on the nuclear reactor in the weeks and months following the explosion. They cleared debris and helped evacuate the communities living in the Chernobyl area and all the while exposing themselves to harmful levels of radiation.

"Nobody knew about the 800,000 liquidators until we made the documentary for RTE. These men actually tunnelled under the nuclear reactor and exposed themselves to horrific amounts of radiation and the effects upon their health and the health of their families have been horrific."

The Chernobyl Children's Project estimates that over 20,000 liquidators to date have died and a further 75,000 are permanently disabled. Roche maintains there has been inadequate monitoring and health checks for the liquidators, many of whom received over 10 times the recommended maximum lifetime dose of radiation in a few minutes.

Roche flicks through her book and pauses every so often to point at photographs and explain the background to each story. Tomorrow night, she will officially launch the book withe Ali Hewson at Dublin Castle. Her special guest for the night will be her 'god child' Alexei Barrett, a 10-year-old boy from Chernobyl who was adopted by Roche's sister and her husband.

"Look, there's Alexei . . . isn't her gorgeous?" She points at a photograph of a small, blond-haired boy. Alexei was born with a tumour where one of his eyes should have been and doctors in Belarus didn't think he would survive until the Chernobyl Children's Project arranged for him to travel to Ireland for medical care.

Alexei is one of many children whom Roche has rescued from almost certain death in Chernobyl. Every year, they fly a number of children from Belarus to Ireland so that they can receive treatment for the condition that has become known as 'Chernobyl Heart'.

"Their hearts are weakened and they have strokes, not one but many until they eventually die, " she explains.

"There are thousands of children who have been affected in this way and who will most certainly die but we try and help as many as we can."

Roche has been visiting Chernobyl at least twice a year for 20 years. She has seen babies born with grotesque deformities and watched children die from illnesses brought on by the poisoning of their environment. How does she cope with such gruelling experiences.

"I operate on a policy of one child at a time. One child at a time, " she repeats as her eyes well up with tears. "It has been extremely hard and it will continue to be so but it is important to focus on what we can do to help the people affected by this terrible disaster."

Roche maintains the world has turned its back on Chernobyl and she is determined to remind us that the people of Belarus, western Russian and northern Ukraine are still very much in need of help.

"The United Nations has described the 1986 nuclear explosion as 'the greatest environmental catastrophe in the history of humanity', " she says fervently. "Between the stricken regions of Belarus, western Russian and northern Ukraine, the United Nations estimates that up to nine million people have been affected directly or indirectly by the fall-out. This is a terrible disaster that is not getting better, it is in fact getting worse and we simply can't ignore it."

And with that she wipes a tear from her cheek. As I walk away I spy another journalist patiently waiting his turn.