Michael Feeney (schoolteacher), lover of Nora Barnacle, July/August 1889 - February 1897.
Feeney was a native of William Street West, Galway, and a friend of Nora Barnacle since childhood. They began courting each other in 1896. However, Feeney became ill with Typhoid and Pneumonia in February 1897, and was removed to the Galway Workhouse Hospital, where he died seven days later. He was buried outside the city in Rahoon cemetery.
Nora was distraught at his death, and in later life told James Joyce about him. Joyce is believed to have fused Feeny, along with another of Nora's boyfriends, Michael Bodkin, to create the character of Michael Furey in his short story, "The Dead". His poem, "She Weeps Over Rahoon", may also have been inspired by her relationship with Feeney.