This page is about the US incarnation of Phillip Gallagher. For the UK version, see Phillip Gallagher. Phillip Ronan "Lip" Gallagher is a main character. He is the second-eldest Gallagher child and the most academic. He is a straight-A student with a 4.
While he possesses above average intelligence and excellent mechanical skills, he deliberately wastes time acting like the rest of the people in his town. He uses his intelligence to make money for his family, such as taking the SAT for other students or avoiding the cops when selling beer and marijuana from an ice cream truck. Despite his apparent genius, he has terrible judgement and is frequently shown smoking cigarettes and weed, having unprotected sex with multiple women, and drinking copious amounts of alcohol.
Lip has a juvenile prison record. Ian was his accomplice several times, but Lip covers for him because Ian wants to enter the Marines. Lip has a cynical personality and is unrestrained in his criticism, which often gets him into trouble.
Lip often gets into fights, including brawls staged for cash, but generally doesn't care if he wins or loses. He is not as physically fit as Ian, and his provocative attitude frequently gets him beaten up. Lip is protective of his younger siblings, but his pessimistic worldview and apathy toward almost everything causes him to clash with Fiona in her attempt to better their lives.
All the same, Lip is grateful to his older sister for the years she spent raising him and his siblings. Lip and Ian, who is later revealed to be Lip's half-brother and cousin, are particularly close and often give each other relationship or career advice, though on two occasions, this resulted in a fist fight between the two.
