The Voice Winner Andrea Begley Takes Her Talent Home

The Northern Irish winner of this year's The Voice singing talent contest has returned home to celebrate in the County Tyrone village of Pomeroy where "buzzing" fans greeted her and Cookstown District Council have awarded her a civic award to recognise her achievement, reports the BBC.

The Voice 2013.27 year-old Begley is partially sighted, last week speaking out for disabled attendees at gigs after her own difficult experiences as a music fan. Rejecting any claims of a sympathy vote, Begley said to BBC Radio Ulster "I think I can stand back and say now my role in this competition and my success in this competition has been down to my singing and it has not been for any other reason. My vision is obviously a part of me, but it is not everything I am about." She lost 90% of her eyesight as a child due to a degenerative disease but this hasn't stopped the singer, guitarist and pianist from gaining a degree in politics, a career as a civil servant, and working towards a postgraduate law degree. Now her plans for working for the government will be put on hold after she won The Voice, beating favourite Leah McFall to win a £100,000 recording contract.

Begley showed her shrewd mindset as a young artist, acknowledging that winning isn't an "automatic ingredient for success" and details her plans for the future: "I have got ideas and I have got songs, so I am going to get in the studio and work with people, maybe other writers and see what we can come up with, so I can get something out there pretty quickly,"

Her first single, a cover of Evanescence's 'My Immortal' is out now and is doing well in the UK singles charts.