Currently living in California, have an Indian passport, and I need to travel to a conference in September in Dublin, Ireland. I was thinking of traveling other parts of Europe, but it seems in my case I would have to apply for two visas - A Schengen visa and a UK-Standard Visitor visa (On this, I think I can visit both London and Ireland). Seems getting a Schengen Visa would be hard due to backlogs. Also, will a UK-Standard Visitor visa be enough to visit Ireland? Not sure, Is anyone familiar with Visa agent who can help in this scenario?
You cannot travel to Ireland with UK visa .. republic of Ireland is not part of UK. Scotland yes you can
I got this from their site - The Short Stay Visa Waiver Programme allows nationals of a number of Eastern European, Middle East and Asian countries who have a short-term UK visa to come to Ireland without the need for a separate Irish visa.
Source: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/government_in_ireland/ireland_and_the_uk/common_travel_area_between_ireland_and_the_uk.html#:~:text=People%20with%20UK%20visas%20or%20residence%20permits&text=The%20Short%20Stay%20Visa%20Waiver,for%20a%20separate%20Irish%20visa.