As the postcard effort was reaching its peak , tabloid newspapers speculated that the Labour Party wanted to put Hewson up for the Irish presidential election of 2004 , with the '' Daily Mirror '' quoting an unnamed party insider as saying , " She 's a mother of four but she has always had world issues at heart and she 'd make the perfect candidate . " ( Labour had succeeded with its candidate Mary Robinson in the 1990 election but came in fourth with Roche in the 1997 election . ) Hewson stated that she had not been approached , and that " It 's not a serious proposition . It would obviously be a huge honour if I was asked to take on such a huge task , but for one thing I 'm not sure I 'm qualified , and for another I 've got four small kids to bring up first . " She also expressed contentment with incumbent President Mary McAleese staying for another term . She jokingly added that she could not see Bono agreeing to live in a smaller house . Hewson received a media mention two years later as a possible Social Democratic and Labour Party candidate in the 2004 European Parliament elections after John Hume had stood down . The notion of her running for Irish president came up again in 2008 in conjunction with the 2011 election ; columnist Fiona Looney wrote in the '' Daily Mail '' that while " she is certainly a decent and smart woman " , the position was better held by someone with a stronger background and more diplomatic experience . Hewson demurred once more , saying she did not speak the Irish language well enough , this time adding humorously that she could not see her husband being willing to walk behind her at events . The candidate that Labour did put up , Michael D. Higgins , won the post . Notwithstanding this speculation , Hewson generally shies away from political comments in the media
Irish presidential election of 2004
2004 Irish presidential election
Ali Hewson