He was educated at the Christian Brothers School, Nenagh; St. Brendan's Seminary, Loughrea; Mungreat College, Limerick.
In 1904 he was one of two Clonfert priests who travelled to the U.S. to collect funds for the construction of a cathedral in Loughrea; "members of the Joyce family who had previously emigrated to the United States helped greatly in this task by organising fundraising events.
His contribution to the town—recognised "as a model town and one of the neatest and tidiest in the country"[2]—led to Pope Pius XI granting him the title of Domestic Prelate in 1928.
Due to emigration, the Portumna Brass and Reed Band (established 1907) had declined, until Monsignor Joyce reorganised it and appointed a new bandmaster.
He established the Shannon Development Association in 1945 to utilise the resources of Lough Derg for the town and its neighbours.