The mother of fatal stabbing victim Sean Nolan has spoken out about knife crime in the wake of the sentencing of Dublin GAA star Johnny Cooper's assailant and a wave of incidents last weekend.

Charlotte Nolan's son Sean was just 18 when he was stabbed to death by Finn Colclough on Waterloo Road in Dublin in May 2007, in one of the most shocking knife attacks in recent Irish history. 

She spoke to The Pat Kenny Show about her feelings on the release of her son's killer, her wish for mandatory sentences in knife-related deaths and her call for an abolition of juries in homicide cases.

Meanwhile, the Garda Representative Association has called for tasers to be deployed to more members to combat the threat of knife crime. 

GRA President Dermot O'Brien says officers are being sent into harm's way with inadequate equipment to confront knife-wielders.