PORTLAND – Briana Murphy, 24, died in an accident on Christmas Day, 2021, while riding as a passenger in a motor vehicle in Boise, Idaho, the city where Briana’s latest adventure lead her.

Briana was born in Portland on May 30, 1997, the daughter of Michael Patrick Murphy and Ann Nora (Conley) Murphy. She attended Lincoln Middle School. She was a proud 2015 graduate of Deering High School. Like so many aspiring, young Mainers, Briana matriculated at the University of Maine at Orono, where her world of close friends expanded. Briana’s studies never interfered with her friendships!

Briana exhibited her strong Irish work ethic and commitment to helping people from an early age. She began by volunteering as a young teen to assist the blind at the Iris Center located in Portland. Like the union members of her family, she started punching a clock in high school by caring for residents at The Cedars. While she pursued her studies at UMO, she worked two jobs to help pay for tuition, one at a senior citizen facility, the Meadows, and the other at a facility for different seniors, The Bear’s Den. Though she worked and studied hard, she was not marked absent when it came to living the “good life” all UMO students crave during the wicked, winter weekends.

More than school or work, Briana yearned for adventure. She spent many summers as a counselor at Camp Jordan in Ellsworth, toured Ireland with her cousins chasing her through its vales and pubs, and traveled cross-country alone before trying on Boise for a new look. During her time in Boise, she lovingly cared for Alzheimer patients in the hospice unit at BrightStar Care.

Briana was not the life of a party, she was the party. Her laugh was so loud and contagious, a room full of conversations would yield. Her personality was magnetic, attracting friends in all places that she lived and worked. Like her mother’s father, her flock knew her, and she knew her flock. As C.S. Lewis said, “Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything.”

Briana was predeceased by her grandparents Joseph Murphy and his wife, Doris, and Gerard P. Conley Sr. and his wife, Ann.

Briana is survived by her father, Michael Murphy, her mother, Ann Nora (Conley) Murphy; and her two brothers, Ryan and Michael, all of Portland. There are far too many Murphy and Conley aunts, uncles, and cousins, scattered across Portland and the northeast to list here, but, like her parents, all are heart-broken and crushed by her loss.

A celebration of Briana’s life will be held at the Maine Irish Heritage Center on Sunday, Jan. 9 at 1 p.m. Additional parking is available at the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at St Pius X Church, 492 Ocean Avenue, Portland on Monday, Jan. 10 at 11 a.m. Masks will be required in accordance with Covid protocols at both events. Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home of Portland. To view Briana’s memorial page or to share an online condolence, please visit http://www.ConroyTullyWalker.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family would request donations be made to the Maine Irish Heritage Center.

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