The countdown is on. One Irish girl has a very special request for Aer Lingus this week, and it’s all thanks to her passion for Gaelic football. Gillian Hawdon from Oldcastle in Co. Meath got in touch with us to tell us that her club team will contest their first ever senior county final this weekend. The club are set to play long-time rivals St. Ultan’s this coming Saturday (September 19^th) but unfortunately for Gillian, she’s stuck in the States with no way of getting home. "I have played football with Oldcastle Ladies Football Club since the club was set up in 2005! “I’ve played every age group all the way up,” Gillian explained to Her.ie. “We won the Intermediate Championship in 2011 and have been trying to get the senior title ever since. “We have never got as far as the final before,” she continued. “We got to the semi two years ago and that's the closest we've ever been." “I’m in fourth year of college and got the opportunity to come to America as part of my studies, but it breaks my heart now that I’m away from home for this game,” she said, adding that she’s currently studying in Pennsylvania with “not a penny to my name”. “My club means the world to me. It would honestly mean everything to get home and be a part of it all! “The chance to be a part of the final would make me the happiest girl alive. I’m just wondering if there’s any hope for me to get home at all?”

@AerLingus Irish girl studying in Need to get home for my Club Senior Final but have no money.Can you help? pic.twitter.com/vcMog3ys9P

— Gillian Hawdon (@gillyhawdon) September 13, 2015