ALIHewson has become a hero to me because, in this WAG world we now occupy, where celebrity in itself is seen as an achievement and Jordan, Posh, et al are seen as lamplighters for our nation's female adolescents, Ali Hewson is a shining example of a determined and indomitable figure. She is a true role model, and one of beautiful, sophisticated restraint, while simultaneously fulfilling her duties as a caring mother and supportive partner.

From the outside she has it all - a wealthy, famous husband in Bono, four gorgeous kids, a stunning mansion overlooking the sea in Killiney and numerous other homes dotted around the world. She manages, in her 40s, to be one of the most attractive women in Ireland, a natural beauty with her own sense of style that doesn't waver with passing trends.

It's what she has done with her fortune and good luck that I admire. Unlike far too many celebrity wives who goldfish their lips to every second 'important issue', Ali is consistent in her humanitarian efforts.

I have interviewed her on several occasions and found her to be gracious, gentle, intelligent and selfless, always pushing the spotlight away from herself and onto one of the numerous causes that she supports.

The one that seems closest to her heart is her work with the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and only last week, with the help of her longtime aid partner, Adi Roche, she effortlessly assembled some of the world's best-known supermodels for a Brown Thomas fashion show in Cork, with all proceeds and earnings going towards the Chernobyl Children's Project (CCP).

Born Ali Stewart, she started going out with Bono, then Paul Hewson, when she was 14 and they were both students at Mount Temple school in Clontarf. She was there for him following the death of his mother when he was only 14, helping him to cope in practical ways with everyday life, as well as supporting him emotionally. She cooked and cleaned for him, and helped with school too, making sure that he actually got there! They married in 1982, when she was just 21, and she sacrificed her own wish to become a nurse to support him and his musical dreams. However, a few years later she went onto to study for her BA in Sociology and Political Science in UCD and graduated in 1989, just after their first child, Jordan, was born.

Like many great Irish women, Ali is proof that you don't have to give up on your own dreams when you marry and raise a family.

With a little planning and a lot of hard work, she's managed to do both. Ali and Bono have four children together, two girls - Jordan (18) and Eve (16) - and two boys - Elijah (8) and John Abraham (6). She has stuck by Bono through thick and thin, and through the tough times that almost every marriage experiences, made all the more difficult by his high-profile lifestyle.

Ali is one of the few well-known rock-star wives with a reputation for being a good human being and an active campaigner, using it to affect change in the political world as well as the music and fashion industries.

She stood side by side with Greenpeace against the Sellafield reprocessing plant, and co-produced and narrated the 1993 Irish-made film Black Wind, White Land, which highlighted the plight of Chernobyl victims in Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine following the nuclear disaster.

AShe has travelled and appeared extensively with Bono when participating in activist events, such as campaigning against third-world poverty, and is also the driving force behind the Edun fashion label, which encourages fair trade with thirdworld nations. The company is a shining example to all companies who are currently producing their wares through the use of child labour and sweatshops.

One of the only times that Ali really was in the U2 spotlight was back in 1998 when she appeared in the video of 'The Sweetest Thing', which documented Bono's humble apology to her for forgetting her birthday.

Showing her compassionate, charitable and selfless character once again, she donated all of the proceeds of the song to a charity for the victims of Chernobyl. The Cranberries were so impressed with her work for CCP that they dedicated their song 'Time Is Ticking Out' to her.

Ali Hewson is a testament to all the hard work that working mothers put in on a dayto-day basis. She has achieved so much, whilst making omelettes all over the world, but you hardly ever hear her break any eggs. Say you want a revolution or a quiet riot? Ali can do both, and do it with class.

» Taragh Loughrey-Grant is a nominee for TV Personality of The Year at the Annual Irish Film and Television Awards on 7 February (www. ifta. ie)