In 2006 Joe was nominated on the eircom League team of the season and was shortlisted for player of the year. His displays for 'City did not go unnoticed by Ireland manager Steve Staunton and in May 2006 he was called up to the Irish International team. He manned the substitutes bench in a match against Chile, but a poor performance saw Staunton unwilling to experiment late in the game. Gamble later played for the Republic of Ireland B team against Scotland in November 2006. In doing so he became only the third City player ever to do so.