Tipperary in the subsequent All-Ireland decider. After surrendering their provincial crown in 1965, Kilkenny bounced back the following year. Skehan added a third Leinster medal to his collection, once again as an unused substitute, following a 1–15 to 2–6 defeat of Wexford. Kilkenny were subsequently defeated by Cork in the All-Ireland decider. Kilkenny retained their provincial crown following a 4–10 to 1–12 defeat of Wexford after a scare in the opening half. It was a fourth Leinster medal for Skehan as a non-playing substitute. He was confined to the bench once again for Kilkenny's 3-8 to 2-7 defeat of Tipperary in the All-Ireland decider on 3 September 1967. It was Skehan's second winners' medal. He finished off the year by claiming an Oireachtas medal following a 4-4 to 1-8 defeat of Clare. Skehan made his senior championship debut on 23 June 1968 in a 3-13 to 4-6 Leinster semi-final defeat of Offaly. A six-month suspension for regular 'keeper Ollie Walsh resulted in Skehan being retained, however, Wexford put an end to Kilkenny's hopes of securing the title in 1968. The Noresiders bounced back the following year with Skehan, who was back on the substitutes' bench once again, collecting a fifth Leinster medal following a 3–9 to 0–16 defeat of Offaly. On 7 September 1969 Kilkenny took on Cork in the All-Ireland decider, however, Skehan remained off the starting fifteen. Kilkenny ran out winners on a 2–15 to 2–9 scoreline with Skehan collecting a third All-Ireland medal as a non-playing substitute. After surrendering their provincial and All-Ireland crowns to Wexford the following year, Skehan was still a non-playing substitute as Kilkenny defeated Wexford by 6-16 to 3-16 to take the Leinster title once again. It was his sixth winners' medal. On 5 September 1971 Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final, the Cats faced a 5–17 to 5–14 defeat. First-choice goalkeeper Not only did Skehan take over as first-choice goalkeeper with the Kilkenny senior team in 1972 but he was also appointed captain. He won his first Leinster medal on the field of play, his seventh over all, following a 3-16 to 1-14 defeat of Wexford in a replay of the provincial decider. Cork provided the opposition in the All-Ireland final on 3 September 1972, a game which is often considered to be one of the classic games of the modern era. Halfway through the second-half Cork were on form and