"Inês é morta" is an expression in the Portuguese language and means "she doesn't work anymore". Nowadays the phrase is used to express the uselessness of certain actions.
Often this complete expression is "Now it's too late, Agnes is dead," which indicates that it's too late to do something about something.
Ines is dead - origin
Inês de Castro was D. Pedro, before he was king of Portugal. She was the bastard daughter of a Galician knight, and had brothers in favor of the re-annexation of Portugal by the Kingdom of Spain. Inês de Castro was also one of D. Constance, wife of D. Peter. The romance between the aia and the prince became quite notorious, and talked about by many of the people, which represented an discomfort for the Portuguese crown. For this reason, King D. Afonso IV ordered the exile of Inês de Castro, in the castle of Alburquerque, on the Castilian border. Even so, the romance between the two did not cool down, as it is known that they corresponded frequently.
When D. Constance, wife of D. Pedro died, D. Afonso IV and his vassals were concerned about the influence of the Galician woman in the political life of the future king. Against her father's wishes, D Pedro ordered Inês de Castro to return, and they began to live together. This was a great affront to the father and king. Fearing for the independence of Portugal, D. Afonso IV had Inês killed while D. Peter was on a hunting trip.
Upon returning, D. Pedro finds his beloved Agnes dead, which caused a great conflict in the kingdom. Father and son went to war, which was only resolved with the intervention of the queen mother, D. Beatrice. After the death of D. Alfonso IV, D. Pedro I is declared the eighth king of Portugal. After becoming king, D. Pedro I cruelly pursued and killed two of the men responsible for the death of his beloved. Later, the king claimed that he had secretly married D. Inês de Castro, legitimizing the three children he had had with her. D. Pedro I granted Inês de Castro the posthumous title of Queen of Portugal, and he certainly would have liked to have reigned with his beloved on her side, but that was not possible, because "Inês is dead".
Ines is dead - Camões
The sad story of Inês de Castro became better known when it was immortalized by Camões in Canto III of Os Lusíadas, one of the best and best known literary works in the Portuguese language. In this passage, Camões makes reference to Inês de Castro: "... It happened to the miserable and petty person, that after being killed, she became queen...".