Watch: Saoirse Ronan and Jimmy Fallon sing 'Fairytale of New York' on Tonight Show

It's fair to say that appearances on American talk shows haven't always been well-received for Saoirse Ronan. Despite being one of the most versatile actresses in the world at the moment, the Yanks have a habit of, how shall we say it, making their Irish counterparts don the Leprechaun hat when they appear on TV. This was the case with Ronan's strange Saturday Night Live Aer Lingus sketch last year.

In this particular appearance, Saoirse and Jimmy come together for a genuinely heart-warming version of 'Fairytale of New York'.

To begin with, Saoirse explains the popularity of Irish 'lock-ins' to Jimmy Fallon, who looks like he's caught a gust of Christmas spirit. "The whole town just locks the doors and goes down to the pub and has a drink and have a sing-song," says Ronan, which leads Fallon to reply, "I think we all should have a lock-in tonight, here in the Tonight Show."

Following this, they then serenade the crowd with a rendition of The Pogues' hit song. Jimmy Fallon's impression of Shane Mac Gown is genuinely on-point, while Ronan's take on Kirsty MacColl isn't too bad either.

Notably, the rendition skips the verse where the two singers hurl insults at each other, with MacGowan calling MacColl "an old slut on junk" and her replying "you cheap lousy f****t."

These lyrics have led to much debate in recent years, with many people suggesting that they should be changed, or at the very least that the offending words should be censored. 2FM DJ Eoghan McDermott summed up what many people felt in a Twitter thread recently, saying:

"Phrases that have zero social utility should fall away. Enough vitriol out there without gay people having to feel uncomfortable so people that aren't affected by an insult can tap their toe. Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get Retarded" changed to "Let's Get It Started" - rightly so."

Saoirse Ronan's new film, Mary Queen of Scots, is out now.