Joyce joined the Na Piarsaigh club at a young age and enjoyed some success at juvenile and underage levels, including winning a Féile na nGael title in 2006 after a 1-05 to 1-04 defeat of Athenry in the final. On 7 December 2013, Joyce enjoyed his first success at adult level when he was at centre-back for Na Piarsaigh's 0-20 to 2-09 Cork Senior Hurling League final defeat of Sarsfields.
Cork
Minor & under-21
Joyce first played for Cork as a member of the minor team. He made his first appearance on 24 June 2009 when he was introduced as a 59th-minute substitute for clubmate Patrick O'Rourke in a 5-17 apiece Munster Championship draw with Tipperary. Joyce ended his tenure at minor level following a 2-17 to 1-13 defeat by Waterford on 7 July 2010. On 15 July 2011, Joyce made his debut in the under-21 grade in a 4-19 to 1-21 defeat of Tipperary. He was at right corner-back in the subsequent 1-27 to 4-20 Munster final defeat by Limerick. Joyce captained the Cork under-21 team on 17 July 2013. The 5-19 to 2-13 defeat by Tipperary was his last game in the grade.
Senior
On 7 July 2012 Joyce made his senior championship debut in a 1-26 to 2-16 defeat of Offaly in the All-Ireland qualifiers. He became Cork's first choice centre-back for the championship the following year, lining out in his first Munster decider, however, Cork faced a 0-24 to 0-15 defeat by Limerick. On 8 September 2013 Joyce lined out against Clare in his first All-Ireland final. Three second-half goals through Conor Lehane, Anthony Nash and Pa Cronin, and a tenth point of the game from Patrick Horgan gave Cork a one-point lead as injury time came to an end. A last-gasp point from corner-back Domhnall O'Donovan earned Clare a 0-25 to 3-16 draw. The replay on 28 September was regarded as one of the best in recent years. Clare's Shane O'Donnell was a late addition to the team, and went on to score a hat-trick of goals in the first nineteen minutes of the game. Patrick Horgan top scored for Cork, however, further goals from Conor McGrath and Darach Honan secured a 5-16 to 3-16 victory for Clare. In 2014 Joyce won his first Munster medal as goals by Séamus Harnedy and Paudie O'Sullivan gave Cork a 2-24 to 0-24 victory over Limerick in the provincial decider. Joyce won his second Munster Championship medal on 9 July2017 when he played at right wing-back in Cork's 1-25 to 1-20 defeat of Clare in the final. On 1 July 2018, Joyce won a third Munster Championship medal following a 2-24 to 3-19 defeat of Clare in the final.
