KENMARE RESOURCES is appealing a €10 million libel award made in favour of former executive Donal Kinsella.

Separately, Mr Kinsella’s solicitors have proceeded with further litigation against the mining company.

Last November Mr Kinsella was awarded the highest libel payout in the history of the State, after a High Court jury found he had been defamed by a press release issued by Kenmare concerning an incident in Mozambique in which he sleepwalked naked to a female colleague’s bedroom.

At the time of the award, Bill Shipsey SC for Kenmare Resources, described the award as “off the Richter scale” and said the company would be appealing it. According to court documents, an appeal has now been lodged by legal firm Eversheds O’Donnell Sweeney on behalf of Kenmare Resources.

Kenmare declined to comment yesterday.

Meanwhile solicitors firm Hayes has filed a notice of intention to proceed with the remainder of Mr Kinsella’s original claim. Only the defamation element was heard in November.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Kinsella said Joe O’Malley of Hayes Solicitors has proceeded with further litigation against Kenmare Resources and its chairman, Charles Carvill in respect of “damages for conspiracy, negligence, loss of office, breach of confidence, breach of privacy and breach of Mr Kinsella’s entitlements to fair procedures”.

Mr O’Malley said these claims relate to issues such as the manner in which Mr Kinsella was removed from his position, and the way in which the investigation of the incident was carried out.

On July 10th, 2007, a press release issued by Kenmare Resources stated the board was to seek Mr Kinsella’s resignation as chairman of the company’s audit committee arising out of “an incident” in which he sleepwalked to the room of company secretary Deirdre Corcoran during a trip to Kenmare’s Moma titanium mine in Mozambique on May 9th, 2007.

The jury found the release wrongly meant Mr Kinsella had made inappropriate advances to Ms Corcoran.

It awarded him €10 million against the company. Mr Justice Eamon de Valera said he would grant a stay providing €500,000 was paid out immediately to Mr Kinsella.

At the time Mr Kinsella said he was “exhilarated and vindicated” by the jury’s verdict.